Kiara and Kaze's beginning
by Kiara.Kaze
Summary: This is one that describes how our original characters, Kiara and Kaze, began their lives. It's set in the Naruto universe.
1. The First Friends

**Right, Kaze here. This is a story I wrote with a little bit of collaboration with Kiara. It's about our original characters' beginning. Yes, just one because they're inseperable. I appreciate reviews and answer every one of them!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own. Except Kaze, she is my original character, y'know.**

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"You're so stupid!"

"Ugly, too!"

"Why'd you have to survive?"

"We hate you!"

The kids screamed at Kaze and Kiara as the two girls hurried home. Kiara was hyperventilating, trying to keep herself from harming any of the children, and Kaze was throwing dirty glances at them.

"Why don't you join your parents, stupid?" One of the kids taunted, pushing Kiara over the edge. Kiara's eyes started to change, but Kaze took her hand, already sprouting claws, and dragged her away from the kids.

Neither said anything, both turned mute by their experience a couple years ago. The two six-year-olds were now living quietly in their house, thankfully free of bodies, and away from the rest of the village. Nobody came to visit the two orphans, except those who wanted to take something from them or call them names.

The two girls finally made it home and Kaze shut and locked the door before pulling the blinds over the windows. Kiara set the food they'd gone out to buy on the kitchen counter before breaking down and running to her room. Kaze looked after her, scratching absentmindedly at one of the scars until it broke open and began to bleed again, dripping red onto the overly-dusty carpet.

Kaze sighed, gave up on eating, and went to sleep, leaving the food out, but successfully putting the cold things in the refrigerator.

The next morning, Kaze wrapped up her bleeding arm, checked on Kiara, who was still sleeping, and left the house. She still had to pick up some new clothes for she and Kiara, and it would be easier to shop if Kiara wasn't hyperventilating. Kaze made her way to a second-hand clothing shop, the owner one of the few kind people she'd met.

"Ah, hello, Kaze-chan!" The woman called out kindly. Kaze nodded at her, her eyes kind as she went to look around. Kaze had also lost all expression the night she and Kiara turned mute, but the kinder people knew her enough to not judge her. "Is there something I can help you find?" However, that did not mean they didn't try to get her to talk.

Kaze tilted her head, pointing to her clothes. "Ah, new clothes for you and Kiara-chan?" Kaze nodded as the woman picked out some things. "These should fit you, but you know that if they don't you can always come back and I'll make sure they do." Kaze nodded, handing the woman the money to pay for it, allowing her to bag the stuff, and then walking out.

Outside, Kaze turned a corner, and ran right into a young man. He had to be in his older teens, but he was reading a truly atrocious book. He had the clothes of a jounin, the headband of the village (which was slanted over his left eye), and a mask covering his face. When Kaze looked up at him, she found a blue right eye and spiky white hair. Kaze managed to drop her bag and the man dropped his book.

"Whoops," he said, his voice deep, as his visible eye looked down at Kaze, who had also fallen onto her butt. "Sorry bout that," he said, putting his hands under her arms and lifting her up like she weighed nothing before setting her on her feet. He leaned down, picked up her bag and his book, gave the bag to her, and walked away. Kaze huffed, her face completely devoid of emotion before continuing on.

Another corner later, and she hit another hazard. The three boys she and Kiara had escaped yesterday had come back for a rematch. Kaze sighed, but didn't fight back as one of the boys shoved her to the ground. She was fully prepared for a beating, shutting her eyes and not even putting her hands up to protect her face, but it never came. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found the white haired man standing in front of her and the three boys running away.

"You okay, kid?" He asked, turning around and picking her up the same way he had before. Kaze looked up at him and nodded. She wouldn't admit it, but she found she was fascinated by this man. He treated her like... Well, like a kid, and she wasn't used to it. Normally people treated her like a disease or a china doll. The man was looking at her closely, holding her bag again. "You don't talk much, do you kid?" He asked, his eye crinkling in amusement. Kaze shook her head, looking away.

The man cocked his head to the side. "Hmm... Mute?" He asked. Kaze nodded. "And expressionless..." He muttered, standing up straight. "Well, where do you live, kid? I'll escort you." Kaze looked at him, only her eyes showing her shock, before pointing in the direction she'd been heading and taking a few hesitant steps forward. The man walked beside her, seemingly happy to be helping.

They made it to Kaze and Kiara's house and the man held her bag out for her. "Well, I'll be seeing you, kid," he said, turning away and heading down the road again. Kaze put her hand up, almost to stop him, but dropped it quickly. The man, as if he'd seen it, turned around and his eye crinkled again. "My name's Hatake Kakashi," he said, before continuing away from her. Kaze watched him disappear before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Kiara ran up to her once she'd walked in, her face full of worry. Kaze patted her head and held out the clothes. The two stayed inside all day, quiet, ignoring any people who came by.

The next day, Kaze and Kiara woke up together at five. For Kaze this was normal, but since Kiara had gone to sleep so early the day before, she too woke up. They heard a soft knock at their door not long after being awake and Kaze went to check it, looking out through a hole before opening it.

"Hello, kid!" Hatake Kakashi said, waving, his eye crinkling happily. Kiara hid in the kitchen, peeking out to see who was intruding, before Kaze waved her forward. "Ah, you have two of you?" He asked. "Hmm, and you're mute also. Either way, come with me, I have somewhere I need to go, and you two seem like you need a friend."

Kaze looked at Kiara, who looked at Kaze. Kaze shrugged and Kiara frowned. Sighing, Kaze picked up a worn out jacket and stepped outside, beckoning for Kiara to follow suit. Kiara took a moment, looking from Hatake Kakashi to Kaze, surprise etched in her face, before complying.

Kaze took Kiara's hand before looking up at Hatake Kakashi, who took Kaze's hand in his own, leading her and Kiara away from their house and to a memorial stone near the edge of the village. They didn't pass anyone on the way, and didn't talk or stop until they had reached the stone. Once there, Hatake Kakashi stopped, dropped Kaze's hand, and stared at the memorial stone. Kaze stepped closer, examining the stone, and running her hand along her grandfather's name. She tugged Kiara closer and pointed to Kiara's grandfather's name. Kiara nodded, smiling teary-eyed at Kaze. They both then sat down next to Hatake Kakashi, who was still standing, and they all stared at the stone.

Not long after arriving, Hatake Kakashi bean talking to the stone. "Hey, it's Kakashi again," he said, looking sad. He talked to the stone like it was his friend, and Kaze and Kiara didn't question him. Instead, the three of them spent a quite five hours sitting near the stone.

When Kakashi finally realized he was late for something, he and the two girls left the stone to eat lunch. They went to a place called Ichiraku's for ramen, and while they ate Kakashi talked to them.

"Well, if either of you ever get your ability to talk again, you may call me Kakashi. I don't like being called Hatake, that was my dad," he explained after inhaling his food so fast no one saw what was under his mask. "I know your names, but I'm not sure which is which." He looked them over for a minute as the two girls ate their ramen, both looking back at him. "Who's Kiara?" He finally asked. Kaze pointed to Kiara and Kiara dipped her head in embarrassment. Kakashi nodded, turning his eye on Kaze, who noticed it was crinkly again, a sign of his amusement. "So, you, kid, must be Kaze," he deduced. Kaze nodded, setting her finished bowl down.

"I'd really like to know why you two don't talk..." He mused, looking away. Kaze looked at Kiara, who shrugged. "I'd also like to know why you, Kaze-chan, don't have facial expressions," Kakashi continued, looking back at them for a moment before once again looking away. Kaze looked at Kiara again, who bit her lip in worry. Before she could decide, though, Kaze nodded with finality and pulled a pencil from behind her ear and slid a napkin close to her.

When Kakashi looked back to the girls, he was surprised to see a napkin with writing on it being held up to him. He stared at it for a moment before looking around it at Kaze, who motioned for him to take it. He did so and began to read:

"We lost our parents when we were four," the napkin began. "They, along with both our clans, were killed off. Kia and I only had each other, so we stuck together. But kids are mean, so we both stopped trying to talk to people. I have to be strong, so I don't show emotions. If I'm strong, Kia is too. And she can handle what the day throws at her without freaking."

"But..." Kakashi said, rolling his eye to look up at Kaze. "How did you two know each other?" Kaze motioned for him to flip the napkin, and when he did so, he noticed more writing on the back.

"Kia's dad and my dad were 'rivals.' Kia and I became friends as they 'fought' and we were together all the time. So when our clans were killed, we were together, so we stayed together. Our houses are really close, so we just kept them both, but we live in only one."

"You knew exactly what I was going to ask, didn't you?" Kakashi asked, another smile hidden by his mask. "So... No one's tried to talk to you before me?" He asked. Kaze shook her head, staring up at the white-haired jounin. "What about class?" Kaze shrugged, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "Ah, no one wants to teach something they don't understand," Kakashi guessed, nodding his head. "They all blame you two for what happened to your clans?" Kaze nodded. Kiara looked down at her now empty bowl, not meeting Kakashi's eyes.

"Do you know what happened?" Kakashi finally asked. Kiara flinched and Kaze put her hand on her shoulder before motioning to the bottom of the napkin. Kakashi read what was written there:

"We don't talk about that. I've been trying to get Kia to forget," It said simply.

"Fair enough," Kakashi said, nodding. "Well, I believe I am late enough, I have to go meet Gai now for a match he demanded we have," Kakashi said, paying for their food and walking out the door with the two girls following. "Don't get in trouble on the way home," he warned before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Kaze nodded at nothing, waving Kiara in the direction of their house. Kiara nodded and ran off, leaving Kaze to go find the two some new books.

As Kaze was walking alone, the three boys Kakashi had scared off before came back. "Hey, ugly," one taunted. "That freak isn't here to protect you, so we're gonna get our revenge now!" The other two boys cackled stupidly and Kaze didn't say anything, merely turned in their direction and stared at them. This aggravated the leader and he ran at her. Kaze closed her eyes, waiting once more for a punch that never came.

"Hey, don't be jerks!" A boy yelled, standing in front of Kaze and fending off the other boy's punch. "She isn't fighting back, just go away!" The three boys scattered once more and Kaze opened her eyes to see her rescuer. He had spiky black hair and wore black clothes with a fan emblem on the back. His skin was pale and when he turned to look at Kaze she saw he had black eyes. "Hey, you okay?" He asked. Kaze stared at him warily before nodding her thanks. The boy watched her for a moment before smiling.

"You don't talk much," he said. Kaze shook her head slowly. "That's okay," the boy said before sticking out his hand. "I'm Sasuke, by the way." Kaze's eyes widened in surprise before she took the hand and shook it. Sasuke, obviously satisfied, turned away. "It's nice to meet you!" He called. "I gotta go now, but if those jerks ever try to bully you again, I'll help you!" He ran off, leaving Kaze alone to walk home, forgetting the books she'd wanted to get.

At home, Kaze described to Kiara, on paper, the boy and what had happened. Kiara looked appropriately horrified, never once reminding Kaze about the books, and they eventually went off to bed.

The next morning, Kakashi was once more at their house. "Hello!" He called when no one answered the door. Kaze opened the door, rubbing her eyes, and looked up at him. She and Kiara were dressed for the day, having hoped Kakashi would allow them to accompany him to the stone again. Kakashi smiled warmly at them, still wearing his mask, and beckoned them to join him.

The morning passed exactly as it had the day before, but when the three left the stone they didn't go to lunch. Kakashi instead apologized, saying he had to meet a guy again. Kaze waved to him as he left, determined to find the books she'd forgotten about the day before. She allowed Kiara to come with her, and they were surprised to see Sasuke running up to them.

"Hey, hey!" He called, waving at the two of them. Kaze looked at Kiara worriedly before waving back. Kiara stared at the boy, hiding behind Kaze. "This your friend?" Sasuke asked, looking around Kaze at Kiara. Kaze nodded, patting Kiara on the head to reassure her. Kiara frowned up at Kaze. "She doesn't talk much either, but she's more expressive than you are," Sasuke noted. He stared at the two before shaking his head like he was getting rid of some thoughts.

"Anyway!" He continued, clapping his hands together. "I was wondering if you," he motioned at Kaze, "and your friend," he waved at Kiara, "would like to join me and my family for dinner?" He finished, tilting his head in question. Kaze looked to Kiara, who frowned, but then smiled up at Kaze. Kaze nodded, biting her lip. "Great!" Sasuke shouted, pumping his fist in the air. He grabbed Kaze's hand and pulled her and Kiara towards his house. "We eat pretty early, so I want you two to be able to meet my family before dinner!"

Sasuke's house was huge and very decorated. Fans adorned every wall, obviously his family crest. Chests and paintings were scattered throughout the room, seats were abundant, and delicious smells wafted from the kitchen area. "My mom is cooking," Sasuke explained, almost apologetically. Kaze allowed herself to be dragged from room to room in what appeared to be a tour of Sasuke's house.

"Here is my family!" Sasuke said, smiling at Kaze and waving his hand at his parents and older brother. "That's Itachi," he pointed to the older brother who was wearing black and had black eyes just like Sasuke. He looked really tired, and only spared half a moment's glance for the two girls. "This is my mom," he pointed to a kind woman cooking. "And my dad," he pointed to a stern man reading a book.

"Hello, dears," Sasuke's mom said, wiping her hands and turning to the two girls. Something flickered in her eyes but she smiled widely at them. "You're Kaze and Kiara, right?" She asked. Kaze nodded, pointing at herself, then Kiara. "Good, I'm glad you and Sasuke are friends." Kaze bit her lip before nodding again. Kiara smiled hesitantly at everyone.

The girls ate dinner with them before leaving. Sasuke walked with them to make sure no one bullied them on the way. "I didn't know your name was Kaze," Sasuke said, staring at Kaze. She looked away, uncomfortable, but nodded. "And you're Kiara?" He asked, looking around Kaze at Kiara. She nodded also. "I think I've heard those names before. Are your last names Kami and Kawa?" He asked, watching their faces. Kiara flinched but Kaze nodded, deciding that if Sasuke wouldn't be their friend because of their names they'd better get it out of the way as soon as possible. Sasuke's jaw dropped.

Kaze sighed silently, looking away but keeping her face impassive. She could feel a certain one-eyed gaze on them but didn't want to bring it to the others' attentions. Sasuke spluttered in embarrassment for a moment before letting out a whoosh of air. "THAT IS AWESOME!" He finally yelled, causing Kaze and Kiara to jump. Kiara looked confused, but Kaze just looked at the boy. He grinned at them before realizing they had no idea why he was so happy about it. "Dude!" He yelled before coughing in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just can't believe I'm friends with two of the most admirable people in the world." Kiara blushed, gaping at the boy as he grinned at them again. "You two survived your clans' demise, that's definitely worth something. Even if my dad doesn't like you. I don't care what he says, just know that!" They stopped in front of the girls' house and he waved as he turned around. "I'll see you both later!" He called, running off. Kaze and Kiara waved back dazedly.

They then looked at each other and Kaze noticed Kiara's shock before Kiara smiled happily. Kaze nodded, satisfied, and the two went inside and off to bed.

The next morning, Kaze and Kiara joined Kakashi at the memorial stone again, but he waved them away after about an hour. "You two are young, so go have fun with your friends," He said, smiling at the two of them. They hesitated, but Kakashi patted Kaze's head in reassurance and the two girls left. As they walked away, Kiara tugged on Kaze's sleeve, looking back at Kakashi as if to ask if he would be okay. Kaze nodded, patting Kiara's head and the two left Kakashi alone.

Sasuke caught up with them not long afterwards and the three of them wandered around the town, with Sasuke telling them all about his classes, which he was on break from. "There are a couple of weird kids in my class, like that Naruto kid, who looks like he's a complete failure. He never stops smiling or causing trouble. Kiba, his friend, is always with him, and Kiba's got this dog that never leaves Kiba's head. It's just weird!" Sasuke fumed. "And we have these quiet boys, Shino and Shikamaru. Neither one seem to like each other or anyone else. I don't understand! Shikamaru is this super genius freak, and Shino loves bugs-" At the mention of bugs Kaze flinched slightly. Sasuke didn't notice, just kept talking about Shino's bug complex, but Kiara patted Kaze's shoulder sympathetically. She herself had been barely able to suppress a shudder that Kaze had missed.

"And all the girls are just crazy. They always burst into class when we're on break to talk to me, like I'm some celebrity or something. It's so annoying," Sasuke continued, finally stopping to take a breath. He looked over at the two girls walking beside him. "Am I really that cute?" He asked, frowning. Kaze looked back at him for a moment before turning and covering her mouth. She had almost let a snicker escape and intended to keep it in. Kiara frowned, but she blushed slightly. "Hey, hey, Kaze-chan," Sasuke whined, poking Kaze's arm. Kaze turned to him, her face under control. "What do you think? Am I cute?" He looked at her innocently and this time Kaze couldn't suppress the snicker. Sasuke looked shocked as Kaze bit her tongue her lips twitching. She got under control again, taking a deep breath. "What? I'm not?" He asked, horrified. Kaze let out a snort of suppressed laughter, turning her head away from Sasuke again. Sasuke pouted, and Kiara smiled at him apologetically.


	2. Befriending Outcasts

**I'm just trying to introduce everyone I can right now, so I'm sorry if you find it boring. I tried to add some funny parts, if you hadn't noticed. Really I did! Enjoy! Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, except Kaze, who's starting to feel abused and wants to run away.**

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The three continued walking, Sasuke trying to get Kaze to laugh again, Kiara looking on, but refusing to help either, when they saw a boy standing near a fence. He had on a coat with a high collar, shorts, and black, round glasses. He turned to see the three, frowned, and turned back to the fence again, looking up at the top. "There's Shino," Sasuke whispered to Kaze and Kiara. "He's weird! What is he doing?" Kaze looked at Sasuke for a moment, her face blank before she ran to stand next to the other boy. "Hey!" Sasuke called, raising a hand as if to stop her before dropping it in exasperation. "What is she doing?" He asked Kiara, sighing. Kiara frowned at him. "What?" He asked, oblivious. Kiara shook her head, sighing, and watched Kaze.

At first Shino didn't take any notice of Kaze standing next to him. After a minute though, he realized she wasn't leaving and turned his head to her. "What do you want?" He asked, his voice quiet. Kaze looked at him for a moment before turning her head to the top of the fence. Pointing at it, she looked at him again. Shino raised an eyebrow, eyes hidden behind his glasses before looking at what she was pointing at. He then looked back at her, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "You knew what I was staring at?" He asked. Kaze shrugged, pointed to the fence again and looking at Shino expectantly. Shino looked up again. "They're rare bugs," he finally explained, tilting his head. "I'm just trying to decide on the best way to get them." He waved a jar around uselessly. "I can't jump up there, or climb." Kaze looked at the bugs and shuddered, but held her hand out to Shino. He looked at her hand in surprise, then held up the jar. "You want this?" He asked, confused. Kaze nodded and Shino shrugged, handing the jar to her. She took a deep breath, taking her jacket off to keep her sleeves out of her way.

Kaze unscrewed the lid, took another deep breath as if preparing herself, then jumped up and over the fence three times her size, capturing the bugs in the jar as she did so. Kiara smiled proudly while Sasuke's and Shino's mouth dropped open. Shino's glasses slid down his nose, momentarily showing his eyes, but he pushed them up quickly as Kaze vaulted over the fence again. She held the jar out to Shino, tilting her head to the side in question.

"H-how did you do that?" Shino asked her just as Sasuke and Kiara ran up to them. Kaze shrugged, picking her jacket up off the ground.

"That was amazing!" Sasuke yelled, pumping a fist in the air. "Wow! No wonder you two survived, you're awesome, Kaze-chan!" Kaze looked away, trying not to look too embarrassed. Kiara nodded, smiling at Kaze. "So, what were you getting, anyway?" Sasuke asked, peering into the jar Shino was holding. In it were two dark colored bugs, flitting around in confusion.

"Th-they're some bugs my dad was looking for," Shino explained, blushing slightly. "I saw them and thought I'd watch them till they came closer, cause I can't jump over that fence." He kicked the ground for a moment before looking back up at Kaze. "Thanks, um... Kaze-kun?" He said, ending it questioningly. Kaze shook her head, looking at Sasuke.

"She's Kaze-chan!" He said brightly, taking the hint. "You can call her Kaze-chan!" Shino looked at Kaze in question and she nodded, looking away again. "She can't talk or anything, and I think her expressions are broken, but you get used to it!" Sasuke explained, patting Kaze's shoulder. "Anyway, since Kaze-chan accepted you, would you like to join us for lunch?" Shino looked at his feet before looking up and nodding. Sasuke grinned at him and they all began walking again.

"Wait, Kaze-chan," a deep voice called out. Kaze turned to see Kakashi standing where they had just been. "I saw your jump and would like to talk to you for a moment, if you don't mind," he said, smiling at her. Kaze looked to her companions, then nodded.

"We'll save you a bowl of ramen, Kaze-chan!" Sasuke called, and the three of them walked away. Kaze waved, almost smiling, before turning back to Kakashi.

"That was very impressive, Kaze-chan," Kakashi said, smiling at the girl. Kaze rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "And, since the elders refuse to allow you and Kiara to have an education, I would like to train you." Kaze looked up at him so fast she almost got whiplash. She saw he was holding out a belt and some wrist and ankle bands. "Wear these, please," he said, helping her put them on. Kaze immediately felt like she was carrying about two hundred additional pounds on her body. Kakashi smiled, nodding. "You have very strong muscles, and I'm afraid that if we don't tone them now they'll disappear. So I've put fifty pounds of weights in each band, and fifty in the belt. When you can walk and jump freely while wearing those I'll get you some heavier ones, okay?" Kaze nodded, raising an arm with some difficulty.

Kakashi chuckled slightly. "I usually don't do this sort of training, but I'm not so great at teaching how to use chakra, so while I fight with the elders about letting the two of you into class, I thought I'd start with simple muscle training," he said. "Now go on, join your friends." Kaze nodded and turned away, stumbling at the additional weight. "Oh, and Kaze?" Kaze turned her head towards Kakashi. "Try to keep it a secret?" Kaze nodded and Kakashi smiled again before disappearing.

Kaze hurried to meet the other three, trying to keep her walk looking natural. While she walked she tucked the wrist bands into her jacket and the ankle bands into her pant legs and she left the belt cinched around her waist. When she got to Ichiraku's she looked as normal as she could.

"Hey, Kaze-chan!" Sasuke called from a corner, waving his hand high so Kaze could find them. She made her way over and noticed that they had waited for her and not eaten. She patted Kiara's head and sat between her and Shino. "I'd ask what that man wanted, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't answer me anyway," Sasuke said unnecessarily, sitting on the other side of Kiara as the four of them dug in. "Maybe you'll tell us one day?" He asked. Kaze nodded, slurping up a noodle and managing to hit herself in the forehead with it. Shino and Sasuke laughed out loud while Kiara giggled silently behind her hand.

Kaze looked at all of them carefully, her eyes telling them to shut up, the rest of her face impassive, as she wiped her forehead with her sleeve. The other three continued laughing, unperturbed. By the time they had finished lunch, Kiara had a noodle in her hair, Shino was picking ramen off his glasses while managing to keep them on, and Sasuke was trying to find the last of the noodles Kaze had dumped down his shirt. Kaze, however, was noodle free.

"Why'd you have to dump ramen down my shirt?" Sasuke whined, lifting up his shirt as another noodle wriggled down his back. "That was completely not fair!" Kaze looked at him for a moment before he mumbled, "Okay, it was fair, but you really should let us fight back." Kiara smiled, pulling the noodle out of her hair and clutching Kaze's sleeve.

"I must agree with Sasuke-kun," Shino grumbled, flicking a finger in Kaze's direction. A second later Kaze felt a wriggly body in her shirt, wings beating against her back and she paled before letting out a high-pitched scream and jumping about a foot in the air. The bug flew out of her shirt and she hid behind Shino, watching it fly away, face stoic but her eyes showing her fear. Shino's jaw dropped in surprise. "Y-you're afraid of bugs?" He asked incredulously. Kaze's cheeks flushed just a bit and she nodded reluctantly. Shino stared at her for another moment in awe, then grinned evilly. "I may not be a good best friend then, Kaze-chan," he warned. Kaze looked at him warily.

Sasuke shook his head. "I warned you, Kaze-chan. Shino and his family are bug users." Kaze paled, swallowed quickly, but clutched Shino's jacket sleeve. She looked up at him and nodded carefully. She then waved, grabbed Kiara's hand, and the two of them ran off. Sasuke and Shino watched them run away, dumbfounded.

"What... What do you think she was trying to say?" Shino asked, pushing his glasses back up to his eyes. Sasuke frowned, thinking.

"I think she might have been agreeing with you about you two becoming best friends," he answered slowly. "I think she might be willing to over look this bug issue she has to make it possible."

Shino flushed. "A best friend..." He mused, looking down at the bugs Kaze had caught for him. "She jumped a fence to get a friend," he laughed. "She could have just talked to me, but instead she jumped a fence, faced her deepest fear... Of course we'll be best friends!" He finished happily. He then waved to Sasuke, turning away. "Well, I'll see you later," he said, walking off. Sasuke shook his head.

"I can't believe she went through all that trouble just to get another friend," he muttered, also turning towards home.

The next morning, after going to the stone with Kakashi and being shooed away after about an hour, Kaze and Kiara walked around the village searching for their friends. Kaze was extremely sore from wearing the weights, but she kept her gait normal and didn't mention her sore muscles. The two girls wandered the village for about an hour before Kiara saw a dog.

It was a small white dog with brown ears, barking at someone. Kiara let out a gasp of delight and ran to the dog before Kaze could stop her. She picked the dog up and hugged it gently. "Hey, Akamaru, what're you doing?" A boy asked, coming around the corner. Kiara blushed slightly, setting the dog down. Akamaru shook out his fur before turning to lick Kiara's hand. Kiara kneeled down and pet him as the boy raised an eyebrow. Kaze studied the boy. He had brown spiky hair and two red fangs on his face, making him look slightly goofy. He had a jacket with a hood up and shorts on.

"What are you doing to Akamaru?" The boy asked, frowning at Kiara. Kaze stood in front of Kiara, stepping between her and the boy, staring him down. "You wanna fight, girl?" He asked, growling. Kaze tilted her head in neither agreement nor disagreement. He growled again until they heard a shout.

"Hey! Stay away from Kaze-chan and Kiara-chan!" Sasuke yelled, running up to them.

"Yea, she didn't do anything, Kiba!" Shino called from the other direction. Kaze raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"What?" He asked, sounding insulted. "Yea, my name's Kiba, fat lot of good it'll do you, mute." He frowned at Kaze, who stared back, eyes showing her displeasure, but her face stoic. "You're a freak," he finally laughed. Kaze's eye twitched and, before anyone could blink, Kiba was laying on the ground, Kaze standing over him. "Hey! You annoy-"

"Watch what you say, mutt," Kaze whispered, venom dripping from her voice, before turning away and grabbing Kiara's wrist, pulling her away from Kiba and Akamaru. Akamaru whined, laying down and covering his face with his paws. Sasuke stuck his tongue out at Kiba and he and Shino ran after the two girls.

"Dude," Kiba whispered to Akamaru. "She is really... Scary..." Akamaru whined in agreement.

Shino and Sasuke caught up with Kaze and Kiara, Kaze still silently fuming, her face still blank. "You can speak!" Shino accused, panting slightly. Kaze turned to him, raising an eyebrow. He paled, stumbling over some words. "W-well, I mean... You just... I guess it wasn't really 'speaking'... More like whispering..." He stuttered. Kaze sighed, nodding.

"But you don't like to, right?" Sasuke guessed, falling into step beside Kaze. Kiara finally got a hold of her feet and walked normally, allowing Kaze to let go of her wrist as Shino fell into step beside Kiara. Kaze nodded at Sasuke's question, sighing again.

The four continued walking, Shino and Sasuke pestering Kaze to try to get her to talk again, Shino even going as far as making a bug fly into her jacket again. She screeched, but did not actually talk. Not long after the run-in with Kiba, the group came upon another annoyance.

The three boys who had been picking on Kaze when she and Sasuke met were now picking on a different victim, this one with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy wore bright orange pants, a black tee shirt, and an orange jacket; on each of his cheeks were three long scars which looked like whiskers. Shino and Sasuke stopped, not sure if they should interfere, when they saw the scene. The boy was being kicked by the three other boys, and he wasn't fighting back.

Without a second thought, Kaze jumped between the boy and the three bullies. "Ah, our favorite plaything!" The leader yelled, laughing. "You came back, did you?" Kaze's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. Shino and Sasuke looked at each other, then at Kiara who was staring wide-eyed at Kaze. Her eyes were changing color. Shino looked at her for half-a-second, saw Kaze turn to see her and saw the fear flash in Kaze's eyes before he acted. He pushed Kiara back, called a huge bug, and set it on the boys. The bullies fell, screaming to the ground, and Kaze ran to Kiara, patting her head. Shino called more bugs and the bullies ran as if their lives depended on it.

"We won't forget this, freak!" The leader yelled, covering his head with his hands. Kaze frowned very slightly at the bullies before pulling her stoic mask back on and, after making sure Kiara was okay, she walked over to the blonde boy. He flinched, his blue eyes shut tight, when Kaze poked him in the cheek. She paused, waiting until he opened his eyes, before poking him again.

"D-don't touch me!" He squeaked out, sitting up. Then he looked around and noticed the boys were gone. "Wh-what happened?" He asked, his voice coming back.

"Kaze-chan is irrational," Shino said calmly, sending the bugs away. Kaze tilted her head to look up at him from her kneeling position and he patted her head. She shook her head, pulling it away from his hand, before turning back to the boy. "You should thank her, Naruto-kun," Shino finished. Naruto looked up at him then back at Kaze, who tilted her head.

"No way!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. "I don't need you people to help me! I can take care of myself; I don't need your pity!" He ran off without sparing a second glance.

"How rude," Sasuke said. "Idiot. He's dead last in our class and still acts all superior." Kaze raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't even try to put me in the same category as that," he warned, pointing after the boy. "I don't act superior, I am superior." Kaze shook her head, standing up. "I'm kidding," Sasuke said quickly, holding up his hands and grinning.

"It was quite rude," Shino agreed, frowning at Sasuke. "And I'm pretty sure that while you, Mister 'Superior,' were cowering, I was taking care of the bullies." Kaze stood between her two friends, looking each in the eye as if promising a slow and painful death if they continued fighting. Both backed off raising their hands. "Sorry," they mumbled.

"Anyway, how about we go by the school?" Sasuke suggested, putting his hands in his pockets. "Lots of kids hang out around there during our break, so it'd be a good place to see people."

Kaze shrugged, looking at Kiara, who smiled weakly but nodded eagerly. "Well, it's settled then," Shino sighed. "I'll go with to keep those bullies from trying to pull anything." Sasuke frowned, but a look from Kaze kept his lips sealed. The group walked to the school, Kiara clutching Kaze's sleeve in her nervousness, Sasuke walking beside Kiara, and Shino walking beside Kaze.

When they came upon the school, they found it was, indeed, very busy. Students sat around on the lawn under the tree, talking and goofing around. Kiba was also there, causing a ruckus. When Sasuke showed up though, all the girls squealed and left Kiba to flock to Sasuke. Kiba frowned unhappily, but escaped before Kaze decided to go after him.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun!" A girl with long pink hair said, batting her eyelashes at him. She had a red ribbon tying her bangs back and showing off her forehead. She wore a simple dress with black shorts underneath and the standard sandals. A blonde haired girl with her long hair back in a ponytail and one long bang in front of her face pushed pink hair out of the way.

"Go away, billboard brow, you're annoying Sasuke-kun!" The girl yelled.

"Ino-pig, you're the one annoying him!" Pink hair yelled back.

Sasuke held up his hands. "Sakura-san, Ino-san, please quit fighting. I'm just here to introduce my friends Kaze and Kiara," he said, waving at Kaze and Kiara. Sakura, the pink-haired one, went up to Kiara and smiled brightly.

"You're really pretty!" She said before looking at Kaze. "And you are not," she said simply. Shino frowned, putting an arm around Kaze's shoulders.

"Back off my friend, pink-freak," he growled, pulling Kaze away. Sakura seethed, but immediately turned her attention back to Kiara. "Ah, I don't much care for her," Shino admitted, pulling Kaze closer to the tree. Kaze looked at the arm wrapped around her shoulders, but didn't pull away. "You should probably meet the more intellectual people."

Kaze nodded, stifling a laugh. Shino was really protective. Sasuke looked torn between trying to save Kiara from the girls attracted to him and following Kaze. He eventually decided to just stand where he was, especially since he couldn't move with all the girls surrounding him.

Kaze and Shino stood silently next to the tree as Kaze looked up into the branches. Laying on one of them, asleep, was a boy with a brown ponytail and earrings. Kaze looked at Shino, nodding towards the boy.

"That's Shikamaru," Shino explained. "He's really... Smart. I spoke to him only once, but I figured he'd be the one you'd want to be friends with out of everyone here. He's kind of a loner." Kaze nodded carefully, tilting her head as she thought. Then she stepped out from Shino's arm and up to the tree, looking it up and down. After another moment, she punched one spot on the trunk and the entire tree shook just enough to tumble the boy onto the ground.

"Hey!" He yelled, annoyed. Shikamaru rubbed his head, looking up at Kaze. "That was the perfect spot, how could you knock me out!" He frowned at Kaze, who looked back at him expressionless. "You have been traumatized out of your speech and emotions," he guessed. "How troublesome, yet you did figure out how to get me out of the tree. That should have been impossible." He stood up, putting his hands in his pockets. "But whatever you have to say, I'm not interested in," he said walking away. Kaze's eye twitched and she dug her heel into the ground, causing it to split just enough to trip Shikamaru.

Shino chuckled, putting his arm around Kaze and watching some other kids walk up to Shikamaru. "There you are," one said, frowning at him. "You always think you're so smart, don't you Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru sighed, standing up. "I don't think I'm smarter than you, you think you're dumber than me. The truth hurts," he said in a monotone. He looked away from the kid, obviously not caring about any consequences. The boy he snubbed flushed in anger and pulled back his arm to punch Shikamaru. Kaze frowned, veins popping out around her eyes for half a moment before she appeared next to the boy, pressing two spots on his arm and watching it fall limp.

The boy screamed. "What'd you just do!" He yelled at Kaze, holding his useless arm with the other one.

"She hit your pressure points exactly," Shikamaru explained, a smirk on his face. "This is a feat nearly impossible, even for the Hyuga clan." The boy with the limp arm ran away, crying about his arm. Shikamaru sighed. "You'll regain the use of your arm soon enough!" He called half-heartedly. He then turned to Kaze. "You're impressive," he admitted, frowning. "But-"

"If you don't want to be my friend, fine," Kaze whispered, almost too quiet for Shikamaru to hear. "But I will not allow someone to harm another simply because they believe they can." Kaze frowned slightly at Shikamaru. "You seem lonely and I don't want you to be lonely any more." She turned away, locating Kiara and, after extracting her friend from the mob of females trying to be her friend, walked back home, waving goodbye to Shino and Sasuke. Both boys waved back, Shino looking at Shikamaru smugly.

"I'm pretty sure her offer is still open, genius," Shino said, putting his hands in his pockets and leaving the school ground, almost thinking about helping Sasuke leave, but then deciding against it. "Too 'troublesome'." He muttered, laughing.


	3. Meeting New People Never Ends

**I'm starting to feel like I'm rushing, but I just need to introduce everyone! Sorry, guys. Enjoy, and review please!**

**Disclaimer: They still aren't mine, except Kaze. She's starting to feel slightly less abused at this point, now that the spiders are gone.**

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The next morning Kaze was surprised to see Shikamaru at the door instead of Kakashi. She stared at him for a minute, tilted her head, and waited for him to speak. He looked down at the ground, putting his toe in the dirt, and his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry," he finally muttered, not looking at Kaze. Kaze shook her head, laughing on the inside, and patted his shoulder, inviting him inside. He took the invitation hesitantly, biting his lip. When he was all the way inside, Kaze saw Shino walking by outside and waved him in also. He took the invitation with much less of a fight, and Kaze led the two to their kitchen.

Kiara and Kaze's house was dark, the windows grimy, dusty curtains drawn, lights shut off. Shino and Shikamaru bonded out of awe as the two stuck together, looking around at the dust covering all the household items. The only room that looked even remotely clean was the kitchen, and it didn't look as if Kaze or Kiara took too much time cleaning it, just long enough to make sure it was sanitary to cook and eat in. Kiara was eating at their island counter, perched on a stool, when the three came in.

Looking from Shikamaru to Shino, Kiara tilted her head in question at Kaze, who shrugged and flipped a few more pancakes for the two boys. They climbed up onto a couple of stools, looking around in awe. "This place..." Shino started, but stopped when Shikamaru shook his head. Shikamaru leaned over to whisper to Shino in an attempt to keep the girls from hearing him.

"They're obviously okay living here," he said. "And its not like they spend all day in this house anyway, their rooms are probably cleaner." Shino nodded, keeping his mouth shut. After they ate the pancakes Kaze offered them, though, Shino spoke up.

"I came to ask if you two would like to come to my house for dinner tonight?" He asked, obviously unsure. Kaze and Kiara looked at each other for a moment before nodding, Kiara smiling happily. Shino smiled. "Oh, good, cause my dad cooks really well, and I don't want you two to be alone for dinner." Kaze shrugged, washing the dishes and setting them in a spotless cabinet. "That's really clean," Shino whispered to Shikamaru smugly. Shikamaru frowned, but didn't answer.

The four of them left the house, Kaze locking up after them, and walked around the village. Shino ran inside his house to let his father know they were having guests when they passed by his house. Shino's father looked estatic, as far as the girls could tell from his black glasses covered face.

"I'm so happy Shino found some friends," Aburame said in a deep voice. Kiara flinched, hiding behind Kaze, while Kaze suppressed her own flinch and nodded. "I've always admired you two for your courage, so neither of you has to worry about being discriminated against in my home," he reassured them. Kaze looked up at Shino's father with respect, smiling very slightly at him. Kiara saw the look on Kaze's face and her own melted into shock before she too smiled up at Aburame. Shino's father smiled back before waving them off. "We eat at five, Shino, don't forget!" He called. Shino waved at him and the four kids walked off.

Shino patted Kaze's arm. "You okay?" He asked. Kaze nodded, looking at her arm where Kiara was still clinging to her. Kaze gestured helplessly, sighing sadly. "I forgot that not many people like you two," Shino said apologetically.

"Which is just stupid," Shikamaru added, looking at the sky. "Much more troublesome to hate you than it is to..." He cut off, biting his lip, before continuing. "Like... you both; you're very nice people," he finished in a rush. Kaze tilted her head at him, confused, but Kiara smiled at Shino knowingly. Shikamaru caught all three looks and the back of his neck flushed while his face remained calm. "I just mean that all the stories Kiba's parents come up with are a load of crap," he said, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Kiba's parents?" Shino asked. "What do they have to say about them?" He frowned unhappily. "They're just too afraid to do anything!"

Kaze took Shino's hand in reassurance and he calmed down instantly. "Sorry, Kaze-chan," he said, smiling at her. Shikamaru smirked at how quickly he calmed down. The four continued walking, Shino still holding Kaze's hand and Kiara slowly relaxing her grip on Kaze's jacket.

They passed a large house with high stone wall surrounding it. Kaze paused, pointing at a gate opening a few yards in front of them. A small girl in black capris and a hooded jacket stepped out of the gate, followed by a slightly older boy dressed in white. The girl had short purple hair while the boy's hair was long and dark gray. They both turned towards the group and Kaze could see they had the same eyes: purple and lacking pupils. Kiara tugged on Kaze's sleeve; obviously she had noticed it also.

"Kaze-sama," she whispered imperceptibly into Kaze's ear. "They have the same eyes as your mom…" Kaze nodded, shushing Kiara. "But-" Kaze put her finger on Kiara's lips, effectively silencing her. Kiara nodded reluctantly, keeping quiet.

"They are the Hyuga's," Shikamaru whispered, waving uncertainly at the two kids. They had frozen, the girl hiding behind the boy. "The girl is Hinata, part of the main branch, and the boy is Neji, part of the cadet branch. Hinata is shy, not snobby at all, but Neji is over-protective and a complete jerk. He doesn't seem to actually like anyone, but- Hey, what are you doing!" He finished as Kaze ran up to the two Hyuga's.

Shino shook his head. "I'm starting to understand her," he muttered. Shikamaru looked at him incredulously, waving his hand at Kaze running up to the other kids. "You said that he doesn't like anyone," Shino explained, shaking his head again. "She seems to be drawn to people who either don't like other people or are not liked by other people. That's why she's friends with us." Shikamaru gaped at him for a moment before putting his head in his hand.

"Are you kidding?" He asked, sighing. Kiara looked confused as she too watched Kaze run off.

Neji flinched as Kaze ran up to them. "What do you want?" He asked rudely, holding an arm out in front of Hinata. Hinata looked shyly out at Kaze from behind him. Kaze waved hesitantly, stopping in front of Neji. Neji eyed her, but Hinata stepped out from behind him quickly. "Hinata, what are you doing?" Neji asked, staring at Hinata in confusion.

"She seems nice," Hinata whispered to Neji, smiling shyly. "I don't care what her name is, or how father reacts to her, and you shouldn't care either," she said with a little force, frowning at the older boy. She then turned to Kaze, who tilted her head. "Can I be your friend?" She asked hesitantly. Kaze nodded quickly, just as Kiara ran up to them also. Kiara smiled at Hinata, gesturing at Kaze. Shino and Shikamaru followed quickly to help explain.

"They don't talk much," Shino said quickly, putting an arm around Kaze's shoulders. "But they're really nice girls, so if you'd give them a chance, they won't let you down." Kaze nodded, folding her arms in front of her protectively, looking around at Neji. Neji did not look happy, in fact, he almost looked angry at Kaze, but he turned around quickly and walked away before Kaze could decipher his expression.

"Let's go, Hinata, I don't want you hanging out with trash," he said nastily. Kiara's mouth dropped open, Shikamaru glared at Neji's back, Shino grit his teeth angrily, and Kaze dropped her jacket, belt, and armbands before jumping in front of Neji angrily.

"What?" He asked, sneering at her. Kaze glared at him, her stoic mask slipping as the veins around her eyes popped out. Neji glared back, his veins popping out also.

"They both have the Byakugan," Shikamaru whispered, watching the exchange. A moment later and Kaze had shut off Neji's chakra and he fell to the ground.

"How dare you!" Neji yelled, standing up quickly, trying to activate his Byakugan but failing due to lack of chakra. Kaze frowned at him, deactivating her own Byakugan. "How do you have one! And even better at attacking opening points than I or any Hyuga I've known!"

Kaze sighed, taking Neji's arm and opening his chakra points again before waving at Kiara, Shino, and Shikamaru, picking up her bands, jacket, and belt, and walking away. The three followed her, Kiara glaring unhappily at Neji, Shino and Shikamaru not sparing a glance at him. Hinata looked on as they walked away before turning to Neji. "She's really kind," she said.

Neji glared at Hinata before sighing. "I saw, as soon as I threatened her and her friends, she fought back. But I'm pretty sure that if I'd just insulted her, she would have ignored it. I think I might have to admire her," he mused, walking away with Hinata following.

"So you like to be friends with people who are normally ignored?" Shino asked as the four children walked away. He had ventured to grab her hand again and was happy when she didn't pull away. He'd noticed Shikamaru glance at their clasped hands and Shino had decided he enjoyed annoying the other boy.

Kaze nodded, noticing Kiara had grabbed her sleeve again. "Why is that?" Shikamaru asked, not really expecting an answer, mostly just unhappy he felt left out. Kaze shrugged, looking over at Shikamaru. He was frowning, looking up at the sky, and Kaze reached across Kiara with her free hand and tugged on his jacket, tilting her head in question. "Ah, it's nothing," he muttered, shrugging. Kaze dropped her hand in defeat.

A rotund boy in a scarf and orange hair stepped out in front of the group, eating a bag of chips. "Hey, Shikamaru-kun!" He said, munching his food.

"Hey Choji-kun," Shikamaru replied, raising his hand in greeting. "Eating again I see." He waved his hand at Choji's chips.

"Of course, how could I not?" Choji answered, laughing. "So who're they?" He pointed with his bag at the rest of the group.

"Ah, this is Kiara-kun, Kaze-chan, and Shino-kun," Shikamaru said, waving at each person in turn. "Kiara-kun and Kaze-chan are those two girls who aren't in class yet. Shino's the bug-guy," he explained. Kiara and Kaze frowned at Shikamaru while Shino scoffed.

"Thanks, the 'bug-guy.' I was always wondering what people said behind my back," he said sarcastically, Shikamaru shrugged, turning back to Choji.

"So, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just walking," Choji answered, shrugging. "Kiba's parents were asking mine what those 'monsters,' as she calls your friends, were doing talking to her 'precious son.' She's freaking crazy, y'know," Choji said, shaking his head. "My parents acted like they cared, then when Kiba's parents left, mine sent me out to go make friends with Kiara-kun and Kaze-san." He smiled at the two girls, both of whom waved back.

Shino laughed. "That's funny," he said, smiling at Choji. "Well, these two will most like accept you, I mean, they're friends with Sasuke, even."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked from behind them. Everyone turned except Choji, who was already facing Sasuke. Kaze waved at the raven and he smiled. "I can't be mad at you, Kaze-chan!" He said.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun," Shino said. "I just meant that you're hard to be friends with." Sasuke frowned slightly. "You have to admit that you do try to keep away from a lot of people," Shino pointed out. Sasuke sighed, relenting.

"So, are you okay with us being friends?" Choji asked Kaze and Kiara. They both nodded in unison, Kiara smiling and Kaze's face stoic.

They group continued walking until they reached a girl staring dejectedly up into a tree. She had two brown buns on each side of her head and wore a simple Chinese-style shirt and dark pants. She had brown eyes focused up in the tree and she was frowning.

"Lee-kun!" She called, turning away from the group. A boy with feathered black hair ran up to her.

"Yes, Ten Ten-san?" He asked. Lee had large eyebrows, black eyes, long eyelashes, and simple clothes.

"Can you get my scroll?" She asked, turning her attention once more to the tree. "I was practicing and it got stuck up there."

"I am afraid that I can not!" Lee said apologetically, drooping and looking at the ground. "I can not climb trees." Ten Ten huffed, turning away from Lee and finally noticing the group. Kaze was in the process of removing her weights, Shino having explained quickly that it helps her move if she doesn't have them.

"Ah, hello!" Ten Ten called. "Can one of you help me?" She asked, pointing to the tree again. "It's stuck!"

Sasuke stepped up, trying to be cool, and couldn't get even halfway up the tree, so he returned to the group, defeated. Shino had tried calling some bugs to bring it down, but it was too heavy. Choji had just laughed and Shikamaru said it was too troublesome. Kiara stayed back as Kaze finally just pushed everyone out of her way, sighing.

Kaze crouched down before jumping to the first branch, landing on it easily. She swung her way up to the topmost branches where Ten Ten's scroll was stuck. Ten Ten and the others called encouragement up to Kaze as she balanced on the same branch where Ten Ten's scroll was wedged between a fork in the branches.

"Oh," Ten Ten suddenly gasped. "I forgot to mention that it's really-" She was cut off when Kaze jumped to the ground, scroll in hand. She held it out to Ten Ten, who took it, gaping at Kaze.

"It is really what, Ten Ten-san?" Lee asked Ten Ten. She shook her head, checking to make sure the scroll was still as heavy as she remembered it.

"That was really cool, Kaze-chan!" Choji yelled, smiling at Kaze. She looked down, trying not to look too pleased with herself as she put her weights back on.

"So you're Kaze-chan?" Ten Ten asked, holding out a hand. "Well, I'm Ten Ten, and this is Lee. You're really cool, y'know?" Ten Ten smiled at Kaze as she took her hand. Kaze fidgeted for a moment before Shino spoke up.

"She doesn't show any emotions, and she doesn't speak," he said, putting an arm around Kaze's shoulders. Kaze nodded, looking up at Ten Ten.

"That's fine, I'd heard that anyway, so I didn't expect her to answer me," Ten Ten explained, grabbing Lee's hand and turning away. "We have to go, we'll see you later!" She called and the two ran off. Shino looked at the sun.

"We have to go to, Kaze-chan, Kiara-chan," he said, tugging on their wrists. "It's time for dinner, and dad doesn't like us to be late." The three said goodbye to their friends before also running off.

Back at Shino's house, Kaze and Kiara were treated to a dinner of pork chops, cheesy mashed potatoes, fried, garlic rosemary green beans, and a dessert of fruit salad. Shino laughed when the two girls stared in shock at the food. When they'd finished both girls were more full than either of them could ever remember being, having silently agreed to not insult Aburame by leaving anything on their plates; Kiara had even forced down the green beans first, and found they weren't awful, but not enough for her to question her disgust for all vegetables.

"Wow," Aburame laughed. "It's been a long time since either of you had a good meal, huh?" Both girls nodded in embarrassment. Aburame tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How about you stay the night?" He asked. Kiara's eyes widened and Kaze shook her head quickly. "We'd really like you to," Aburame said sincerely. "Really, it's no problem!" Kaze waved at her clothes, pointing out that they didn't have a set for the next day or to sleep in.

A knock on the door took Aburame from his seat and as he was out of the room, Shino pouted at the two girls. "I wish you two would stay," he muttered Kaze sighed in defeat and Kiara smiled at her in understanding.

Aburame came back into the room, followed by Kakashi. "Yo!" He called, smiling and waving. In his hand was a bag which he held out to Kiara. "I figured you two would need some clothes if you were staying with Shino tonight. Get some sleep; I want to take you two somewhere tomorrow morning. Bye!" Kakashi left without waiting for an answer, leaving Kaze and Kiara gaping after him.

Aburame clapped his hands. "Settled! Go change and get ready for bed, then. I'm glad you're staying." Kaze face palmed before twitching her lips into a slight smirk at Aburame.

She and Kiara changed in the bathroom into sweat pants and worn out t-shirts before being led to Shino's room. He had a large bed, similar to Kiara's and Kaze's separate beds. "Do you mind if we sleep in the same bed tonight?" Shino asked, blushing slightly. It's… Lonely by myself."

Kiara smiled and Kaze patted Shino's arm. He smiled, and Kaze noticed he'd changed into pajamas but still had his glasses on. She pointed at them, tilting her head in question. "Oh, right…" He muttered, pulling them off hesitantly. Kaze gasped when she saw his eyes.

First, his eyes were very expressive. Kaze could read him like a book with his glasses off. She saw all the emotions he was feeling at the moment. Second, they were a stunningly, bright blue. He looked worried, his eyes shining his anxiety clearly. Without realizing what she was doing, Kaze reached out and pulled Shino into her arms, wrapping them around his trunk.

Shino froze for a moment before returning the hug happily. "I wasn't expecting you to hug me!" He said, laughing. Kaze flushed, but Shino hugged her tightly before letting go. "Time for bed!" He said, chuckling and pulling Kaze and Kiara onto the bed. Kaze settled herself between her two friends, Kiara claiming one hand, Shino the other. Shino was asleep soon after settling under the covers, and Kaze and Kiara followed soon after.


	4. Talking?

**I think this is the last of the necessary introductions. If there are more that I miss here, I'll add flashbacks into the story at the point the characters show up. But, finally we get into the meat of the story! Yes, I said meat. Anyone recognize the song? Please review!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own. 'Cept Kaze. But Kaze's getting irritated about being mute.**

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The next morning, Kaze and Kiara were first up. Not even Aburame had managed to wake up before they did. Shino stirred when they slipped out of the bed, but he was sleeping peacefully. Kaze made her way to the kitchen while Kiara took a shower. Soon, Kiara, Shino, and Aburame were led into the kitchen by smells of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Kiara managed to reach the kitchen first and she and Kaze settled into a couple of chairs to wait for the other two.

"Wow… Did you make this?" Aburame asked, waving at the food. Kaze and Kiara looked at each other for a moment before they both shrugged in unison. Aburame chuckled and he and Shino, glasses-less still, sat down and tucked into the food. Minutes later, the plates were clean and Kaze was piling them into the sink, washing them, and setting them on the drying rack. She then wandered into the bathroom to change out of her clothes, refusing to look in the mirror. She walked out of the bathroom, pulling her dirty hair away from her face without really caring how it looked.

Kaze traveled into Shino's room to find him just putting his jacket on. He looked up at her and smiled, his glasses still off. Kaze was thrown off again by his blue eyes. He unlocked his eyes with her green ones and began looking around the room, seeming frustrated. Kaze noticed his glasses next to her hand on the desk and she picked them up, walking over to Shino. He turned to her again, surprised at how close she was and she slipped his glasses over his eyes. He laughed slightly and they walked to the living room.

Kakashi was already in Aburame's living room and his eye lit up when Kaze walked in. "Hello, Kaze-chan! Are you two ready?" He asked, including Kiara. Kaze nodded, waved goodbye to Shino, and she, Kiara, and Kakashi left the house. The three of them made their way to what Kakashi explained was the mission room. As they walked inside, they noticed that it was already really busy for it being early morning. The ninja in the room couldn't seem to keep in a straight line and were instead milling about, talking to one another.

Someone cleared their throat before a thump could be heard. Kaze and Kiara were picked up by Kakashi so they could see what was happening from their position in the back. A young man, younger than Kakashi, stood at one of the tables, glaring angrily at the ninja in the room. "Get in line!" The man yelled loudly, causing all the ninja in the room to jump in surprise. Kaze got a better look at the man by sitting on Kakashi's shoulder and saw he had brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, chocolate brown eyes, and a scar right across his nose.

"Ooh… That Iruka…" A woman giggled next to Kakashi. "He's mad again!" She just about sang. She had a small, dark, messy ponytail and wore black boots, a black mini-skirt, and a mesh shirt covered with a sand colored jacket that fell even with her skirt. She had black eyes and was extremely busty.

"Hello, Anko-san," Kakashi drawled, rolling his eye to look at the woman. She smiled at him brightly, noticing the two kids he was just setting down.

"Who're the munchkins?" She asked, eyeing the girls.

"This is Kiara-chan," Kakashi began, waving at Kiara, who smiled at Anko, "And this is Kaze-chan." He waved at Kaze, who waved at Anko, but quickly climbed up Kakashi in order to sit on his shoulder again. He laughed, but didn't stop her as she continued to watch the scene.

Iruka scowled at the room, motioning for the ninja to form a line. The ninja did so and Kaze jumped down, disappointed. "Not the scene you were looking forward to, Kaze-chan?" Kakashi teased. Kaze shook her head, ignoring the tease. Slowly, the three of them made it to the front of Iruka's line and Kakashi waved politely at him.

"Kakashi-san? You're turning in a report on time?" Iruka asked, completely blown away. Kakashi laughed, waving the comment away. "Who are these two? They're school age, right? Why haven't I met them yet?" Iruka asked quickly, smiling at the two girls. Kiara blushed immediately and Kaze face-palmed.

"This is Kiara-chan," Kakashi introduced again, waving at Kiara, "and Kaze-chan," he finished, waving at Kaze. Kaze waved, staring Kiara down until she did the same. Kiara was still bright red, but she did wave at Iruka, who smiled, unfortunately causing Kiara to blush even more. Kaze sighed, shaking her head.

"You don't show your emotions?" Iruka asked Kaze, who shook her head. Iruka looked as if he wanted to say more, but decided against it. "So, why don't they go to school?" He asked Kakashi instead.

Kakashi shrugged. "The elders won't let them, I asked," he answered. "But I think they would benefit from school if allowed, so I'm going to keep fighting for them." Kakashi tossed a balled up paper onto Iruka's desk, eliciting a growl from Iruka.

"What is this?" He yelled, standing up and shoving the paper in Kakashi's face.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, that's my report," Kakashi answered, smiling at Iruka. A vein popped out in Iruka's forehead as he glared at Kakashi.

"Re-do it," Iruka said simply, handing the report back. Kakashi scoffed, but took the report and led the girls out of the room. When they were gone, Iruka shook his head. "How can those sweet girls not be allowed to go to school?" He asked to no one in particular.

Outside, Kaze and Kiara ran into Naruto and Sakura, so Kiara left with them, and Kakashi left Kaze, apologizing and saying he'll make it up to her later, but he had something very important to do, so he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kaze walked on alone before Sasuke and Shino caught up with her and they spent the day together.

The next couple of weeks passed by in much the same manner: Kaze and Kiara alternating spending the night at Shino's house or Sasuke's house (mostly when his dad was on a mission), going to the mission room with Kakashi when he came back from a mission or going to the memorial stone when he was in the village, then separating to hang out with different friends, or staying together to hang out with the same friends.

Kaze was getting used to the pattern, her and Kiara staying mute, keeping their speech to themselves, and trying not to surprise anyone too much. So, when Kiara yelled loudly into Kaze's room early one morning: "I'M LEAVING, KAZE-SAMA!" Kaze jumped out of bed in surprise. Kiara smiled at Kaze, explained Sakura, Ino, and Naruto had invited her to breakfast and watching Sasuke and Itachi train and that she would be back in the afternoon before leaving, leaving a stunned Kaze standing frozen in her room.

She shook her head, trying to decide if she was still dreaming, and looked at the calendar, happily noting that Kakashi was expected back that day. So, Kaze decided to shower. It had been a while since she'd taken a full shower, and she realized she had plenty of time before Kakashi was expected back in the village. In the bathroom, Kaze made sure the water was as hot as she could take it before stepping in. After a minute of washing her body, she noticed that the water still ran dirty at her feet and she picked up a strand of her hair. Looking at it for a moment, Kaze wrinkled her nose, then decided it was finally time to wash her hair. If Kiara was talking, yelling even, she could wash her hair.

Kaze reached under the sink and pulled out a lavender-scented shampoo before pouring some in her hand and scrubbing her long hair. After one washing, the water still ran dirty, so she ended up washing it again. And again before the water finally ran clean. Then she washed it one more time for good measure. Finally, she stepped out of the cold shower and dried her hair vigorously with the towel. She ran a comb through her hair multiple times, rubbing it with the towel again, and repeating the process until her hair was completely dry. She then looked towards the mirror hesitantly, seeing that it was steamed over, before rubbing it with her towel and looking at herself. She cringed for a moment before looking more closely at herself. Ignoring her face, she noticed her hair was a light brown color. "When did I get highlights?" She muttered to herself, testing her voice. It was scratchy and made her laugh, which took her by surprise. She finally decided she liked her hair and pulled it back in a high ponytail that fell to about her waist.

She got dressed, making sure to put her weighted bands on first before her pants and shirt. She then strapped her belt around her waist, realizing that she wasn't feeling any discomfort when she put the weights on. Then she put her jacket on and stepped outside just as Kakashi appeared. Kaze waved, sliding her stoic mask back on her face before he noticed.

Kakashi smiled at her, not noticing her clean hair before they walked to the mission room. "Where is Kiara-chan today?" He asked. Kaze shrugged, waving her hand around to signify that she was out. They made it to the mission room and Kakashi pulled out a piece of paper and crushed it in his hand. Kaze raised an eyebrow at Kakashi and he smiled. "Maa, I like to annoy that Iruka-sensei," he explained, shrugging. However, they were disappointed to see that Iruka was not working that day. "Well, you still get to meet my rival," Kakashi shrugged.

Kaze frowned slightly, confused. Suddenly, she was picked up in a bone-crushing hug. "Hello, my dear rival's small child-friend!" A man yelled. He had a bowl cut, huge eyebrows, and wore a green, skin-tight jumpsuit with a jacket over it. Kaze stared over his shoulder at Kakashi, horrified. _This_ was Kakashi's rival?

Kakashi laughed. "Gai, don't crush her!" He said, not noticing Kaze's mask melt into one of horror. Anko did however and her eyes widened.

"YOU'RE TESTING ME, AREN'T YOU?" Kaze yelled at Kakashi, who froze. "You're trying to see if I'll snap, well! I'll tell you!" Kaze screeched at Kakashi. "I. HAVE. SNAPPED!" She pushed Gai away from her, fell to her feet on the ground, and she looked over at Anko, who already got the message and had opened the large window. A moment later, Kaze had picked Gai up by his jacket and leg, then threw him out the window before people realized what had happened. Kakashi burst out laughing, picking Kaze up by her collar. She glared openly at him, flipped backwards out of his grip, weights and all, and stomped to the door. She glared at it unhappily, trying to open it gently and succeeding in pulling it completely off the wall. She threw a mini-fit before dropping it to the ground and stomping away. "DON'T TEST ME!" She yelled back at Kakashi, who stared out the opening in surprise.

Stomping out of the building, Kaze fumed openly for a moment before composing herself and slipping on her stoic mask. Just then Gai ran up to her with a black jacket in his hands, melting her mask again and pushing her into anger. "What!" She snapped at Gai.

Gai laughed, posing with a thumbs-up sign at Kaze. "I knew you were strong, so I wanted to help you get stronger!" He yelled, waving the black jacket. Kaze eyed it warily before accepting it and nearly falling to the ground at the unexpected weight. "I have already taken the liberty of filling it with a couple hundred pounds of weights for you!" Gai laughed. Kaze scowled, but slipped off her old jacket and slipping on the new one. She felt slow and heavy, but she stood as straight as she could. The jacket was slightly too big for her and had a few zippers on the sleeves and around the waist.

"The zippers are so when you grow taller, you can keep the jacket," Kakashi explained from behind her. Kaze turned to him, unsurprised. "We wanted you to have something to add more weight to your exercise without attracting attention. And, since you seem to like wearing a jacket, we bought you one with pockets on the inside made for weights." Kaze nodded, exploring the jacket.

"Thanks, Kashi-sensei," Kaze said, raising her arms experimentally.

"You're-wait. What?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Kashi-sensei," Kaze said again. "I'm too lazy to call you 'Kakashi,' so you're Kashi," she explained. Kakashi stared at her in confusion for a moment before smiling.

"Okay, I can accept that," he relented. Kaze smiled at him before slipping her stoic mask back on just as Sasuke and Shino ran up to her.

"Hey, Kaze-chan!" Sasuke yelled, waving. Kaze waved back as Gai and Kakashi left, taking her old jacket away. "There's a man on one of the streets in the village playing music, wanna see?" Kaze nodded and Sasuke led the way to the man playing music. Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, Ten Ten, and Lee all joined the three as they went to find the man.

Shino managed to whisper to Kaze, without anyone hearing him, "Your hair looks good today, Kaze-chan." Kaze hid a smile, holding his hand tightly.

The group finally came upon the musician, who was strumming forlornly on his guitar, belting out a song about toes. "I got my toes in the water, toes in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold drink in my hand; life is good today, life is good today."

Sakura, Ino, Kiara, and Naruto all stepped up on the other side of the street, also watching the musician. "Well, the plane touched down just about three o'clock, and the city's still on my mind. Bikinis and palm trees danced in my head, I was still in the baggage line," the man kept singing. Kiara and Sakura had begun dancing a little, the music getting to them.

"Concrete and cars are their own prison bars, like this life I'm living in. But the plane brought me farther, I'm surrounded by water, and I'm not going back again," the man continued singing, before breaking off, still strumming his tune. "C'mon, someone sing with me," he encouraged, looking around at the group that surrounded him. As he began singing again, Kaze stepped forward.

"I got my toes in the water, toes in the sand," he began, encouraging Kaze to join in. Kaze did so as he went on, singing clearly. "Not a worry in the world, a cold drink in my hand. Life is good today, life is good today." The man paused, smiling at Kaze before she took the lead.

"Adios en vaya con dios!" She sang, dancing. "Yea I'm leaving today."

The man took over again, "And if it weren't for tequila and pretty senoritas-"

"I'd have no rrreason to stay," they finished together, rolling the "r." "Adios en vaya con dios," they continued, the onlookers laughing and clapping. "Yea, I'm leaving today. Gonna lay in the hot sun, it's so much great fun, and grab my guitar and play."

Kaze took the lead again, singing to the man's strumming, "Four days flew by like a drunk Friday night as the summer drew to an end. They can't believe that I just couldn't leave and I bid adieu to my friends." The strumming paused and Kiara joined Kaze for her next few lines:

"'Cause my bartender, he's from the island; his body's been kissed by the sun. And coconut replaces the smell of the bar and I don't know if it's him or the rum."

"I got my toes in the water, toes in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold drink in my hand. Life is good today, life is good today," Kaze continued when the strumming returned, the man joining in. The music then stopped again.

"Adios en vaya con dios!" Kaze continued with the group joining in, laughing.

"A long way from Sake," the man continued. "Yes and all the muchachas they call me 'big poppa' when I throw pesos their way."

"Adios en vaya con dios!" Everyone called again, nearly everyone dancing in some way.

"A long way from Sake," Kaze joined the man. "Someone do me a favor and pour me some Jaeger, and I'll grab my guitar and play."

The man strummed without saying anything for a couple of seconds before he paused again, everyone calling out again, "Adios en vaya con dios!"

"Going home now to stay," the man continued.

"The senoritas don't care-o when there's no dinero, Yea, you got no money to stay," Kaze continued laughing.

"Adios en vaya con dios!" everyone called out again. "Going home now to stay!"

The man paused, dropping his voice to a normal talking volume while saying, "I'm just gonna drive up by the lake,"

Kaze joined him again as he strummed lightly, "And sit right down in a lawn chair, my toes in the clay, not a worry in the world, a PBR on the way. Life is good today. Life is good today." The man strummed for a few more seconds before letting it fall silent.

The group clapped. Kaze included. "That was really good, young one," the man declared, shaking Kaze's hand. She beamed at him. "How did you know that song?" He asked her.

Kaze shrugged. "My mom and dad used to sing it all the time," she said as Kiara joined her. "Me and Kia-chan joined them when they sang." The man laughed, thanked Kaze, picked up his things and left.

"Wow, that was really great!" Sakura gushed, beating Shino and the others to Kaze and Kiara. "And you have really pretty hair," she mentioned, reaching out and running her hand through it. "What's your name?" She asked.

Kaze flipped her hair out of Sakura's grip, then she and Kiara looked at each other. Kaze let out a bark of a laugh as Kiara rolled her eyes. "I'm… um, Kaze," Kaze said, laughing. "Remember, that ugly girl you barely spared a glance at before?"

Sakura gaped at her as Shino pushed her away to reach Kaze. "And, apparently, she can sing!" He laughed. "Wow, Kaze-chan! That was really surprising!" Kaze smiled at him as the others called their surprise before dispersing. When it was just she, Shino, Sasuke, Kiara, and Sakura left, Kaze turned to Shino again.

"I refuse to call you Shino-kun, Shino-chan, Shino-san, or Shino-sama, let me just make that clear," she stated. Shino looked at her in confusion. "So, if you don't mind," she said, "can I just call you Shino? No suffix?"

Shino stared at her in shock before spluttering, "O-of course!" He beamed at her. "May I drop your suffix?" Kaze nodded, smiling.

"So, when exactly did you get your voice and emotions back?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, Sausy-chan, I met Gai-sensei today," Kaze began, shaking her head.

"And?" Sasuke asked, not noticing the nickname.

"I threw him out a window," Kaze explained calmly. Shino burst out laughing, imagining Gai flying out a window and Sasuke's eye twitched slightly when he realized Kaze had given him a nickname.

"Wait. Did you just call me Sausy?" He asked, frowning at Kaze. She beamed at him winningly.

"I thought it fit, cause you're all saucy! And it's a nice play on your name anyway, cause you're "Sasu"ke. Right?" Sasuke gaped at her before laughing.

"Okay, okay," he relented.

Kaze smirked. "You are going to regret allowing me to call you that," she sang.

Sakura glared at Kaze before turning to Sasuke. "Can I call you Sausy too?" She asked, smiling widely at him.

"Nope," Sasuke answered simply. "And if you do so, I'll have my brother come after you." Sakura paled.

The group parted, waving goodbye to each other and Kiara and Kaze made their way home. Before they'd reached it, though, they were intercepted by Kakashi.

"Hello!" He called, waving from a tree. "How would you two like to stay at my house tonight?" He asked, dropping down beside them.

"Are you lonely, Kashi-sensei?" Kaze asked, tilting her head to the side in question.

Kakashi smiled at her, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't like to sleep alone, and you two probably don't like staying alone in your house, either. Which is probably why you spend the nights with Shino, Sasuke, or someone else."

Kiara blushed while Kaze rolled her eyes. "No, we don't like being alone, Kashi-sensei. But we get by just fine, like we always have," Kaze sighed.

"Well, I still want you to stay with me tonight. I heard..." He stopped himself, clearing his throat. "I'm having ramen all alone in my huge, empty house... I just wanted some company!" He said instead, pouting through his mask at the two girls.

Kiara laughed. "Okay, Kakashi-sensei. We'll come with you tonight!" She pulled Kaze along with her, who tried to resist for a moment, but was too tired from carrying all her weights to fight too much and instead followed willingly.

The two girls were treated to ramen cups that night and Kakashi had to convince Kaze again to stay at his house for the night, even offering his bed if she'd stay. "Fine, fine, Kashi-sensei!" Kaze laughed. "But we're not going to take your bed! It's your house, not ours!" Kakashi refused to let them sleep alone in his living room, so they all somehow managed to fit on his little bed, the two girls giggling at Kakashi's unwillingness to let them go home.

* * *

**So, the song is Zac Brown Band's 'Toes'. I just changed a few things in it to make it plausible-ish for a six-year-old girl to be singing it. I still can't claim it, though. Please review! Again...**


	5. House Cleaning and Real Friends

**The chapters slowly get longer. I tried to make them not too long, but long enough to cut down on the number of chapters to make it seem not so intimidating. Eh heh...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor the Naruto universe, but I Kakashi is slowly taking over my mind. Not good, I might add.**

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi gave them donuts, let them shower and change into clothes he'd stolen from their house, and they all went to the memorial stone for a couple hours before Kakashi finally shooed them away.

Kiara and Kaze managed to walk alone for a few minutes before a group of their friends found them. "Kaze, Kiara-chan, we're so glad your okay!" Shino cried, even hugging Kiara, who he didn't much like, in relief.

"What're you talking about, Shino?" Kaze asked, raising an eyebrow at his sudden need to hug her. "Why are you so... Touchy?"

"We went by your house this morning to invite you out to target practice," Sasuke explained, waving at himself, Shino, and his older brother Itachi. "When we got there... It was awful! We were so worried about you two!"

"We broke into your house, I'm afraid to say," Itachi admitted, hanging his head a little in shame. "But the outside of your house was so damaged, we were worried about you two!"

"Wait, wait, what happened to our house... Exactly?" Kaze asked hesitantly trading a worried look with Kiara. "And why would you guys be worried?"

"We-we'd followed Sasuke-kun to your house when we ran into him," Sakura started, looking at Ino.

"And we saw the destruction and suggested we find you after Sasuke-kun and his brother said you weren't inside," Ino continued.

"I figured you were okay," Naruto added, his hands in his pockets and kicking the ground. "Since you probably deal with this kind of stuff all the time like I do... But it's not fair to egg someone's house, or graffiti it just 'cause they're a little different..." He finished, frowning at the ground.

"Oh," Kiara said, looking at Kaze in surprise.

"That's all?" Kaze asked, her face stoic to hide her hurt. "Yea, we deal with that kind of stuff all the time. It's nothing. We'll go clean it up now... Right, Kia-chan?" Kiara nodded, her eyes downcast.

"I can help, Kaze-chan... Kiara-chan," Naruto suggested, smiling widely at them. Kiara smiled at him, eyes still downcast to hide the moisture in them.

"That's... really appreciated, Naru-san, thanks," Kaze said, taking Kiara by the hand and leading her and Naruto to the house to take in the damage.

Shino, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino all followed warily, waving at Neji and Hinata to help when they passed. The group made their way to the house, Kaze and Kiara ignoring the growing progression behind them.

Kaze gasped, frowning angrily at the house when she set her eyes upon it. "This is worse than normal, Kia-chan," Kaze muttered, pulling her jacket off and setting it to the side with a sigh. She tugged on her hair in irritation while she thought about where she'd hidden the buckets and other cleaning supplies. "Ah, I'll be right back, Kia-chan," she said, making her way through the mess and into the dim house. She came back out moments later, pulling cobwebs out of her hair and shaking toilet paper off her arms.

"I can't believe they went this far!" Shino's father shouted, having followed his son to the house. "I heard something was going to happen, so I suggested Shino find you two and bring you to our house for the night, but I can't believe they did this!"

Kaze looked up at Shino's father, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "You heard something like this was going to happen?" She asked in confusion.

Shino's dad shook his head in irritation. "Well, I'd heard Inuzuka-san was going to do something mean, and figured it'd be best if she couldn't find you two. She, Asuma, Genma and Raidou were in it together, and I wasn't sure how to stop it."

"Dad did what he could to dissuade them, but I guess they were adamant," Shino muttered, frowning.

"Even my dad tried to stop them," Shikamaru said, having joined the group. "When he realized he couldn't do anything, he made sure I was inside and asked Kakashi to keep you two at his house. Kakashi had already decided he would, but..."

Sasuke looked away in embarrassment. "My dad was part of... the group that did this," he muttered apologetically. "I didn't know about it until after, when Itachi-nii heard about it and asked me where you two were."

"Oh..." Kaze muttered, handing a bucket to Kiara to fill with water. "Well, if you were all a part of it, why are you here?" She finally asked nastily, scowling at the group of people in front of her's and Kiara's house. "Either help us clean, or go away." She turned her back on the group, picking up a trash bag as Kiara filled the bucket with water and splashed it on a window. Naruto took a rag and helped Kiara clean off the windows and Kaze climbed to the roof of the house to pull off more toilet paper. A bug appeared next to her and she let out a squeak of surprise, falling down the other side of the roof and into Itachi's waiting arms.

"You should be more careful, Aburame-san and Shino-kun are trying to help, not frighten you to your death!" He said, setting her down with a laugh. Kaze frowned at him, but he picked up his rag and continued wiping off the side of the house as Sasuke helped. Sakura and Ino, though it looked like it was killing them, were using mops and soapy water on the sidewalk, scrubbing it free of egg and dirt.

Kaze looked around at the rest of the group. Neji and Hinata were looking at the cracks and pulling out nearly rotten eggs to make sure none were left where they could expire further, Shikamaru was helping Kiara fill buckets and handing them to others, Choji was lounging on a chair in the front lawn, "supervising," and even Kiba was helping, he and Akamaru jumping to the top of the house and pulling away toilet paper as Shino and Aburame's bugs ate up the smashed food.

"I didn't know everyone would show up to help," Kiara whispered to Kaze. "Even Inuzuka-kun is helping... And it was his mother that did this. She must be furious!" Kiara and Kaze giggled at the thought, momentarily imagining a furious Inuzuka.

"I didn't think they'd help either, not after what I'd said..." Kaze muttered, embarrassed. "I feel bad."

Kiara patted Kaze's arm, smiling happily. "Let's start cleaning inside. I think it's time we clean the inside completely." Kaze nodded in agreement, following Kiara inside.

"It's kinda gloomy in here, isn't it?" Kiara said, looking around at the dusty living room. "How did we live here?"

Kaze shrugged, tugging open the grimy curtains. Something scurried out of the light and Ino shrieked. "Ew, was that a rat?" Sakura whined from the doorway she and Ino had just followed Kaze and Kiara through.

"Probably," Kaze answered, frowning at the curtain and peering through the dirty window to try to see outside. "We'll have to scrub these rooms, Kia-chan," Kaze sighed, tugging her hair in agitation.

"U-um, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, tugging on Kaze's sleeve. Kaze turned to her to see her pointing in a corner. "What's that?"

A huge spider crouched warily in the corner. Kaze and Sakura screamed, clutching each other in fear as Kiara and Ino backed out the door.

Shino and Aburame raced through the front door to see Kaze and Sakura cowering in the middle of the living room, staring fearfully at the monstrous spider and Shino started laughing hysterically. "Don't laugh, Shino!" Aburame scolded, his lips twitching in amusement as he called the spider out of its hiding spot. Kaze and Sakura flinched as it passed them, noticing that it really was as big as they were.

"Y-you cultivated quite a specimen, K-Kaze!" Shino laughed, having fallen on the floor. "How did you manage to not see _that_ living in your house?"

Kaze shuddered, pulling away from Sakura in disgust as Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba ran through the door. "What happened?" Sasuke asked, looking around for danger.

"Nothing!" Kiara piped up happily from the doorway where she and Ino stood. "We were just surprised at how... disgusting it is in here." Kaze nodded quickly, shooting a dark glare at Sakura to keep her quiet.

"R-right!" Sakura said, taking the hint. "But it was really nice of you to worry about me, Sasuke-kun!" She gushed, beaming at him.

"I wasn't worried about you," Sasuke stated easily. "I was worried you'd done something to Kaze-chan, since she's the one who screamed." Sakura spluttered at him, trying to convince him that she'd screamed too, but Sasuke ignored her. "It's really dark in here, let's take down all these curtains and wipe down the windows," he suggested as Shikamaru and Neji came in with a couple of buckets filled with soapy water and a few sponges.

Kiara took over cleaning the windows, Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, and Kiba all helping her while Kaze took down all the curtains with Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino. They traveled through each room of the large house, Kaze and Kiara running quickly into one room by themselves before joining the others in Kiara's bedroom.

"What was in that room?" Sakura asked in curiosity.

"Nosy as ever, aren't you?" Kaze asked, successfully distracting Sakura from her question and sparing Kiara from answering. Kiara was quiet, fingering the curtains Kaze had just pulled down from Kiara's older brother's room.

The group continued taking down curtains and washing windows until they were finished and Neji suggested they vacuum and clean each room. Naruto, Hinata, Aburame, Itachi, and Choji wandered in, followed by a few newcomers: Lee, Tenten, Gai, and Anko heard the noise from the cleaning frenzy and had come to help.

"Hey, munchkins!" Anko called, waving at the girls. Both girls waved back before dividing up the group into teams of two. Kiara and Sasuke decided to tackle her room; Kaze and Shino decided on Kaze's room; Lee and Gai claimed the living room; and Neji and Tenten took over the dining rom, which Kaze hadn't known she and Kiara had. Sakura and Naruto decided on one of the bedrooms upstairs; Kiara suspected it was so Sakura could stay close to Sasuke. Ino and Anko took the multiple bathrooms, asking where the girls kept the bleach. Shikamaru and Choji decided the unnamed room on the ground floor would be easy and wandered in that direction while Hinata and Kiba agreed on the hallway and Itachi and Aburame accepted the kitchen, following Anko to search for the bleach.

"Your house is so big," Shino muttered as he, Kiara, Sasuke, and Kaze walked upstairs. "It feels like a big job for a bunch of six-year-olds."

"We've got nii-san, so it'll be okay!" Sasuke insisted as Kaze slid one of the closet doors in her room open. Kiara went through and opened the door on the other side of the closet into her room. The two girls flipped on the lights in the closet making it look like a mini hallway between their rooms.

"Neji-san, Tenten-chan, and Lee-kun are all seven," Kaze pointed out, pulling the sheets from her bed.

"You have a secret passageway!" Sasuke exclaimed, standing inside the closet.

"This is only one of them, the most basic one," Kiara said, untangling the vacuum cord. "We have all kinds of secret passageways and mechanical things in our houses."

"Not to mention all the passageways that go between the two," Kaze said as she and Shino began wiping down the walls.

"Your walls are purple," Shino remarked, scrubbing one spot enough to see the paint color.

"Well, look at that!" Kaze exclaimed, studying the one clean spot. "Let's see if all the walls are purple." She helped Shino scrub around the clean spot, slowly making it bigger and spread along the wall.

"Hey, did you know my floor is green?" Kiara asked over the vacuum. Kaze shook her head and Kiara shrugged and continued to vacuum.

After about an hour, Kaze had three lavender walls, clean sheets, the start of a dark purple carpet and dusted shelves. Kiara had a dark green carpet, clean sheets, dusted shelves, and one and most of a second green wall. "This is a lot of work," Shino grunted, resting his arms again and flopping himself down on Kaze's large bed.

"That might be why Kia-chan and I gave up on cleaning a while ago," Kaze yelled over the vacuum. Kiara yelled her agreement from the other room as she and Sasuke scrubbed the walls, her furniture still in disarray from the recent vacuuming.

Another hour and the four trudged downstairs, their rooms spotless. They'd gong to check on the other groups upstairs, but found that the other rooms assigned were already clean and vacuumed, since Kaze and Kiara owned quite a few vacuums.

The group found some groups lounging in the living room, also clean. "Wow! This is amazing!" Kaze explained, noticing that even the ceiling had been scrubbed. "I'm really impressed Gai-sensei, Lee-kun!"

Lee beamed as Gai threw out his wink-smile-thumb's up combo. Lee studied him for a moment before studying his own thumb.

"When did we get a piano?" Kiara asked, running her hand along the keys of the white grand piano in their living room.

"I'm not sure... It was here the whole time?" Kaze answered, shrugging.

"Where's nii-san?" Sasuke asked, noticing that Aburame was also lounging in the living room.

"Still in the kitchen with Iruka-sensei," Aburame answered, pushing his glasses farther up to his eyes.

"Ah, I-Iruka-sensei's here?" Kiara asked, blushing. Aburame nodded and Kiara, Kaze and Sasuke all wandered into the kitchen.

"The house is so... busy," Kaze said, looking around at Kiba and Hinata still cleaning the ground floor hallway.

"I think it's nice. It's not so lonely," Kiara replied, smiling sadly.

The three kids walked into the kitchen to see Itachi wiping down the inside of a cupboard and Iruka standing at the stove, stirring something inside a pot. "Hello, Ruka-sensei!" Kaze called, standing next to the young teacher. "What'cha makin?"

Iruka laughed slightly. "Ruka?" He asked, pulling a spoon out of a drawer to let Kaze have a taste.

"I like nicknames for people," Kaze answered, tasting the food. "Is this soup?"

"Curry," Iruka corrected, giving another spoon to Kiara. "How do you like it?" Kiara nodded happily, taking her bite of curry.

"Do you have rice going?" Kaze asked, standing on her tiptoes to see the stove.

"Oh no!" Iruka gasped, pulling out another pot. "I don't know…" Kaze pulled the rice out from a cupboard next to the stove and handed it to Iruka, taking the pot to fill it with water. "You do this a lot, don't you, Kaze-chan?" Iruka laughed, starting the heat under the water.

"I cook sometimes," Kaze answered vaguely, jumping onto a stool next to Sasuke. Kiara stood nearly frozen next to Iruka, trying to help him cook.

"You still cleaning, nii-chan?" Sasuke asked, snickering at his older brother.

"Yes, I am, little brother," Itachi sighed, flicking Sasuke in the forehead. "This kitchen is surprisingly clean, but there are some places these two couldn't reach, so I'm trying to make it spotless."

"Don't flick me," Sasuke muttered unhappily.

"Oh, right, Kaze-chan, Kiara-chan, I have some good news!" Iruka said, turning towards Kaze and patting Kiara's head. "Unfortunately, the elders still refuse to allow you two to be in school, but Gai and Kakashi have told me about how they were working with you two in their spare time, so I've decided to also tutor you when I can." Kiara clapped happily and Kaze smiled widely.

"Thanks, Ruka-sensei!" Kaze said as Gai snuck up behind her.

"I am so happy you will be getting to learn more, Kaze-chan!" He shouted, picking her up by wrapping his arms around her waist in a huge bear hug. "Iruka-san can teach you more than I or my Eternal Rival can since he is a teacher regularly!"

"Let. Me. Go," Kaze growled, pulling herself out of his hug and flipping over his head to run out of the room. Kiara laughed as Gai looked around in confusion. Before leaving the room, Kaze turned around and stuck her tongue out at Gai. She then ran away to the living room.

"She can move easily again, my Eternal Rival!" Gai shouted, nearly skipping after Kaze on his way to find Kakashi.

Iruka sighed, watching Gai skip away. "She is going to regret becoming their student," he sighed, shaking his head.

"Why's that, Iruka-sensei?" Kiara asked, looking up to her new teacher.

"They've got their special issues," Iruka laughed. "I'm just afraid they'll rub off on her and she'll have an odd mix of quirks."

"I dunno, Kaze-chan is pretty stubborn," Sasuke said, watching his brother put dishes away in the cabinet he just cleaned. "She will most likely refuse to become like them."

"Yea, you might be right," Iruka sighed, watching Kiara stir the rice.

After the everyone who'd helped clean the house had eaten and left, Kiara and Kaze surveyed their clean home. "I hadn't realized it could be so clean…" Kiara muttered.

"It'll be weird to go to sleep in such a spotless house," Kaze agreed as the two wandered into a den.

"Shikamaru-san and Choji-kun said they found a bunch of instruments in here," Kiara said, looking around for the light switch.

"So we have more than just that piano in the living room?" Kaze asked incredulously. "I feel like we each have to learn most, if not all, of these instruments now…" Kiara laughed, picking up one of the guitars after flicking on the light. "Wow, we really do have a lot of instruments…" Kaze breathed, looking around at the collection of woodwind, brass, percussion, and stringed instruments.

"Another piano in here, too," Kiara stated, as Kaze pressed one of the keys. "It needs tuning."

"There're books and music pieces in these drawers," Kaze informed Kiara, pulling out a few books. "We can teach ourselves these instruments from these books."

Kiara agreed, pulling a few books out onto the floor before the two girls decided to go to bed.


	6. Sasuke's Story

**Ths one is shorter than the last chapter. I can't remember why though... Oh, yea, I was so depressed after writing about Sasuke's clan's demise that I just couldn't write much more. Now, remember, though I'm not sure if I ever actually mentioned this, I'm going to try to make this as close to the manga as possible, so there may be spoilers. If you have a problem with that, don't read it. Ooh, and secrets of the Kawa and Kami clan are being revealed! Yay! Did anyone guess this? I don't think so. Hey, read and review?**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own them, but Kaze wants Kakashi since he's slowly taking over my mind.**

* * *

A few months later filled with learning how to play instruments and being taught by Iruka, Kakashi, and Gai, and soon after Sasuke's seventh birthday, the two girls were sitting at Sasuke's house, waiting for him to get home from class. Itachi wasn't home either, so Kiara was helping Sasuke's mom make dinner while Kaze sat with Sasuke's dad to help with a crossword puzzle. After nearly a year of Sasuke staying at the girls' house and the girls staying over at the Uchiha house, Sasuke's father was beginning to warm up to the two girls.

Outside was beginning to darken and the front door banged open, letting Itachi in, still in his Anbu uniform. "That mission was difficult," he muttered unhappily.

"Good afternoon, Tachi-san!" Kaze called, waving at him from her place next to his dad.

"Hello, Kaze-chan," Itachi smiled at her before noticing Kiara. "And Kiara-chan. What are you two doing here?"

"We are waiting for Sausy-chan so we can practice," Kaze answered, pointing towards a box on Sasuke's father's crossword. "Twenty down, six letters, a mild season, third letter 'R' is spring," she said before standing up.

"Thank you, Kami-san," Sasuke's dad mumbled, penciling in the answer.

"What are you practicing today," Itachi asked, taking a seat.

"Stealth," Kiara answered happily, piling food onto a plate and setting it in front of Itachi. "Iruka-sensei finally taught us how to hide our chakra, so we're going to be practicing that with Sasuke-kun."

"That sounds like fun," Itachi said, smiling as he took a bite. His eyes narrowed a moment later and he turned slightly to the window. "How about you two practice that while you're waiting for Sasuke to show up?" He suggested, pushing his plate aside and motioning for Kaze and Kiara to follow him. He led them to a closet in the living room and ushered them inside, closing the door after them. "Make sure I can't sense your chakra, girls," he called through the door as the two girls giggled.

A few moments later, the door crashed open. Kiara jumped and Kaze held the door closed as they heard Sasuke's mom and dad yell. The two girls huddled together when they heard the sound of cutting flesh and blood spilling. When the noises stopped, Kaze stood up and opened the door a crack as Kiara peeked out beneath her. They stared out into the living room and saw Itachi facing off against a tall burly man wearing all black clothes. His shoulder-length hair was tied back away from his face and he turned towards the closet momentarily, allowing the two girls to see a bloody, pale face, and angry silver eyes. Itachi attacked again, already covered in blood, as if distracting the man from the closet. The man dodged and escaped out a window.

"Are you two okay?" Itachi whispered to the girls. They nodded slowly, watching the blood-covered Itachi come closer. "Don't look around, just escape to Kakashi's house as fast as you can."

"Tachi-san, what happened?" Kaze asked hoarsely, trying to look around Itachi. "Where're your parents?"

"They aren't here anymore," Itachi said sadly. "Unfortunately I'll have to make sure Sasuke thinks I've done this, otherwise he'll go after Tsume and be killed."

"Itachi-sama… What should we do?" Kiara asked, finally finding her voice.

"Don't tell Sasuke about this day," Itachi ordered, holding his hand out to the girls. "Let him believe that I did this, that I murdered the clan. But keep his heart from overflowing with hatred. Keep being his friends, he'll need two when I leave."

"You're leaving?" Kaze asked, allowing Itachi to push them towards the door.

"I'll have to. I have to track Tsume," Itachi answered. "Bye, girls. I'll see you two again, I promise." With that he pushed them out the back door and shut it.

The two girls hurried towards Kakashi's house, keeping well out of sight. However, right before they reached their teacher's house, a man jumped down in front of them. "Hello, girlies," he chuckled, his violet hair loose around his face. "What are you two doing out here all alone?" He grinned at them and the two girls froze when they caught sight of his silver eyes.

"W-we were just heading home," Kiara muttered, averting her eyes and grabbing Kaze's jacket. Kaze pulled Kiara's hand off of her and slipped her jacket off.

"I can't let little mice run away from me," he purred, taking a step closer.

"Don't come near us," Kaze ordered, falling into a fighting stance. "We don't want any trouble, just let us by."

"If you don't want any trouble, you shouldn't have been in that house," Tsume growled, running towards them. Kaze stood her ground until the last second, then she ducked, allowing his momentum to throw his upper body slightly over her, and stood up quickly grabbing his torso and flipping him over her and face-first into the ground. She grabbed her jacket and Kiara's hand and ran as fast as she could to get away from him.

Tsume stood up carefully before quickly following them. Kiara tripped, not quite falling, but Kaze overcompensated and fell herself. When Tsume was almost upon them, a burst of white smoke shielded them from his view. "You aren't allowed to attack my students," Kakashi said from in front of the girls, the smoke dissipating. He pulled Tsume into a headlock before knocking his feet out from under him and throwing him to the ground.

Another burst of smoke revealed Gai, who picked Tsume up and threw him over the wall and out of the village. "Let's see him try to escape the Anbu in the forest," Gai laughed, throwing his arm around Kakashi's shoulders.

"Let go," Kakashi said, turning a one-eyed glare on Gai. "I have to get these two to bed before they faint."

Kaze slipped on her jacket, embarrassed that she'd fallen, and stood up. "We're okay, right Kia-chan?" Kaze said, crossing her arms defiantly. Kakashi sighed and picked Kaze up, holding her in his arms before pulling Kiara up to drape over his shoulder. "L-let, let go, Kashi-sensei!" Kaze yelled, flustered.

"You two need to get some rest, so you'll be staying at my house tonight, Kaze-chan," Kakashi replied, smiling. He carried the two girls to his house, holding Kaze tightly so she couldn't fight.

Kakashi made sure the two girls changed into the pajamas that he'd kept at his house from the last time they'd stayed over and climbed into his bed. He pulled his mask away from his face, revealing a fairly normal face with the end of a scar under his eye. "Ssh," he whispered, winking at the girls. "I don't normally let people see my face; it's more fun to allow people to have a mystery. So don't tell anyone I let you two see." The two girls giggled, curling up next to their teacher and falling quickly asleep.

"You're always so nice to them," Iruka whispered from the window, not looking in.

"They intrigue me," Kakashi answered, wrapping his arms around the two girls.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" Iruka asked, crossing his arms.

"I believe they might follow in our footsteps, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi answered.

"Become a sixteen year old teacher or a nineteen year old Jounin?" Iruka asked, chuckling.

"Or even younger," Kakashi suggested. "Kiara is brilliant, and Kaze is strong. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. They will be one formidable team. We have to make sure they graduate from the academy. Then we'll have to find her."

"Her?" Iruka asked, surprised. "Do you think she'll take them on?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"If we make a good argument," Kakashi stated. "You and Aburame fight the elders for their chance for graduation. Gai and I will search for her. Or at least him. Maybe he can help us find her. It's absolutely necessary that they get the best teaching possible. We need these two girls trained as much as they can."

"Will do," Iruka agreed, jumping away.

The next morning, Kakashi made sure the two girls took showers and changed into clothes he'd had stashed at his house. "Why do you have so many of our clothes?" Kiara asked suspiciously.

"I've bought you two quite a bit of clothes to keep here, just in case," Kakashi answered, pulling his mask over his face and leading the two out the door. The three of them walked to the memorial stone and stood there for a couple of hours before Kakashi made them leave to go find Sasuke.

"I think Kashi-sensei knows what happened, Kia-chan," Kaze suggested, frowning unhappily as they searched for their friend.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Kaze-san," Kiara said, hiccupping as she tried to keep from crying.

"Just don't tell him that we know what happened," Kaze ordered, patting Kiara's shoulder. She noticed Sasuke not too far in front of them when they turned the corner and handed Kiara a handkerchief before slipping on her stoic mask and running up next to Sasuke.

Sasuke noticed her, his expression broken and his eyes red, but he didn't say anything. Instead he tried to move faster than her to leave her behind. Kaze refused to allow him to get too far ahead of her and kept pace as he hurried along. Shino saw them pass and joined Kiara, asking what was happening. Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, and Ino all joined Kiara also, watching Kaze race after Sasuke.

"Sasuke, tell me what's wrong!" Kaze demanded, jumping in front of her friend to keep him from escaping again.

"My clan is gone!" Sasuke shouted at her, trying again to slip past her.

"Sasuke, we can help you; don't run away from us," Kaze ordered, keeping him from passing.

"You can't understand how I feel!" Sasuke yelled. Kaze scowled at him, flicking his forehead angrily. "Ow!" He cried, falling to the ground as his vision swam.

"What do you mean we 'can't understand'?" Kaze asked, glaring at him.

"You're brother didn't kill your whole clan!" He shouted. Kaze watched Kiara pull the others away to explain what was happening and Kaze leaned down next to him.

"You're right," Kaze whispered into his ear. "My brother didn't kill my whole clan, my best friend did." Sasuke froze, gaping at her. "Don't _ever_ tell her I told you this, understand?" Kaze ordered, her voice low. "Kiara has an ability, one that makes her and I equal in strength, but unconscious control of this ability comes at age five," she began. "One day, she let her control slip, just slightly, and she flipped out. Her anger took control at one thing her father said, and she took out both of our clans on the one day we all get together."

"Ki-Kiara did?" Sasuke whispered.

"She has control now, as long as she doesn't get too angry," Kaze assured him. "But my father was the only one she didn't kill completely. He was going after her, and forgot that he'd ruined my life one too many times. So, at age four, I killed my own father for my best friend. When we were found, the Jounin described it as 'a blood-covered young girl holding a sword while standing protectively, unconscious, in front of another girl passed out on the floor.' There's a reason we lost our voices. There's a reason I have a mask. We have to hide our guilt. Our sadness. We did it; we're to blame; all because of power granted only to the Kawa clan." Kaze stood up, staring coldly down at Sasuke. "Don't you ever say we don't know what you're going through," she demanded.

"Kaze… chan?" Sasuke whispered, tears finally rolling down his face. "I'm just so scared… And confused…"

Kaze calmed down and smiled kindly at Sasuke, holding out her hand. "We intend to stay your friend, Sausy-chan, no matter what you think or decide," she said, pulling her friend to his feet. "So please, don't treat Kia-chan any differently. Our clans' demise isn't her fault. If anything, it's mine."

"What do you mean?" He asked, wiping the tears off his face as the others began walking closer.

"The purpose of my clan was to make sure that didn't happen," Kaze answered, frowning at the memory. "Kia and I were 'assigned' to each other. Our job is to make sure the other stays in control. I failed in my job as a caretaker and took my own father's life. I won't let that happen again, so we stay together."

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Kiara asked, watching Sasuke with sad eyes.

"I'm not going to bother questioning how you know what happened, since I'm pretty sure you and Kaze-chan have some sort of weirdo mind connection thing," Sasuke sighed, grimacing at the group. "But, yea, I guess I'll eventually be okay."

The group separated, much to Ino and Sakura's annoyance, with Ino, Sakura, and Kiara going one way, to be soon joined by Lee, Tenten, and Naruto, while Kaze took Sasuke the other way, followed by Shino, Shikamaru and Choji. They were later joined by Hinata (with Neji following closely) before Kakashi appeared to take Kaze away for lessons.


	7. Becoming Ninja

**I skipped over quite a bit of time, since there's nothing that really happens in the manga during this time, until they are all twelve. Of course, I had to add the infamous kiss, so be prepared! I tried to describe it as the manga did, so if you don't think I did it justice, please review with any suggestions! I'd appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own, 'cept Kaze.**

* * *

Time passed, Kiara and Kaze doing their best to keep Sasuke from drowning in sorrow and guilt, and finally, at the age of 12, the two girls were admitted into the academy. After so many lessons with Kakashi, Gai, and Iruka, the girls were confident in their abilities to become part of the class and pass the test to become full-fledged ninja. Half of their plan was unnecessary because, as some cruel joke by the elders, the two girls were admitted right when the exams began.

"Why would the elders allow us to become part of the ninja class right when the exams are starting?" Kaze whined while the two girls trudged through the streets towards the academy.

"My guess is they have enough confident in our non-existent abilities that they think we'll pass a test we were totally unprepared for and, of course, not be humiliated if we don't," Kiara answered brightly, slyly covering her sarcasm.

Kaze grinned at her and they skipped into the academy, taking their seats to begin the test. "The test today to become official ninja will only require you demonstrating one skill: Creating a clone," Iruka called, the other judge, Mizuki watching the class carefully. Mizuki had soft eyes and silver hair. He was one of the more gentler ninja, but Kiara and Kaze had never been able to trust him.

Kiara nudged Kaze's side, pointing towards Naruto. Kaze giggled at the look of horror on Naruto's face; both girls knew that creating clones was Naruto's worst ability. "We've got this test in the bag," Kiara snickered. Kaze marveled once again at how sarcastic her friend had gotten over the years of hearing Sasuke whine and moan about how he will have to become "an avenger" and "kill his brother" for the sake of his dead clan. Kaze and Kiara had become more than a little annoyed with his whining and both girls have had their moments of ignoring their friend.

"Good thing Kashi-sensei knows the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Kaze agreed, watching one student after another walk into a separate room. "Not even Ruka-sensei knows we can do that."

"Kami Kaze," Iruka called through the door, hushing the group of students at Kaze's name. Kaze snickered, gave one of Gai's patented thumbs up signs to Kiara and sauntered into the other room.

"Hello, Kaze-chan," Mizuki said kindly. Kaze frowned at him slightly, but bowed formally at him and Iruka.

"A clone, if you will, Kaze-chan," Iruka asked, holding his pencil above his clipboard in anticipation.

"Just one?" Kaze asked innocently, forming a few hand signs. Iruka raised an eyebrow, but then laughed when a poof of smoke revealed a dozen Kazes.

"Can you reduce it to one?" Iruka asked, still chuckling.

"Of course, Ruka-sensei," two of the Kazes answered, the others disappearing.

"You pass, Kaze-chan," Iruka said throwing a headband at one of the figures. Kaze returned to one person, caught the headband, and bowed to leave. "Kawa Kiara," Iruka called out the open door to the classroom as Kaze left out the other door.

Half an hour later, Kaze and Kiara were admiring each other's headbands, though neither had put theirs on their heads. Kiara decided to wear hers around her neck, while Kaze put hers on her left forearm. The two girls congratulated each of their friends until they found Naruto sitting forlornly on a swing.

"Hey, Naru-san, what'cha doing?" Kaze asked, leaning against the tree next to the swing.

"I didn't pass," Naruto muttered, looking away from Kaze. Kaze frowned.

"Well, that doesn't seem right, why not?" She asked.

"I can't make one lousy clone," he replied, looking away from Kiara as she sat down in the grass on the other side of him. "Look at all those happy kids with their happy families… All of them passed, why couldn't I?"

Kaze sighed, already tired from Sasuke's whining from that morning. "Look, Naru-san, I'm sorry you didn't pass today's test, but we could help you make a dozen clones for next time. You'll pass no problem," she suggested, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Just go away!" Naruto said, running away from the two girls.

"D'you think he'll be okay?" Kiara asked, watching Naruto until he disappeared.

"If not, we'll hear about it," Kaze sighed, stretching and heading home. Kiara followed, watching for Naruto.

That night, Kaze and Kiara heard rumors about Naruto having stolen a sacred scroll and the Hokage went to talk to them. "Hello, girls," the old man said kindly. "I was just wondering if you two knew where Uzumaki Naruto had gone to."

Kiara shook her head, frowning at the Hokage. "Last we saw of him was with Mizuki-sensei having lunch," Kaze said, recalling how she and Kiara had followed Naruto until he met up with someone else. "We heard them talking about the scroll…"

"Mizuki wouldn't have stolen the scroll, girl," the Hokage said, his kindness diminishing. "What I wanted to know is if you saw Naruto with it."

"Of course not, sir," Kiara replied shortly. "If we had, we would have stopped him."

"Big scroll like that is either something important or Tenten's," Kaze agreed, frowning at the old man. "We normally like to be part of his pranks against some of the other kids…"

"_You_ like to be part of his pranks, Kaze-san," Kiara corrected, turning away from the door.

"Either way, we haven't seen Naruto or the scroll, nor heard of them since his lunch with Mizuki-sensei," Kaze reiterated, opening the door for the Hokage to leave.

"If you hear anything-" The Hokage began.

"Oh, we heard," Kaze interrupted as he turned around outside the door. "You just refused to listen." With that, she shut the door on his stunned face, trusting him to be able to hobble back to his office by himself.

"You didn't need to be rude," Kiara stated, sipping some of her tea. "Aggressiveness isn't the answer."

"I thought that phrase was 'violence is never the answer'?" Kaze asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Same thing," Kiara shrugged, cleaning up her dishes.

The next morning, the two girls walked slowly to the academy, having already left Kakashi at the memorial stone with reminders to not be late. "What do you think happened to Naruto," Kiara asked, listening to the voices around them.

"Not sure," Kaze shrugged. "Maybe we'll hear today?" The two girls walked into the classroom to see their favorite maverick ninja sitting at one of the desks, showing off his very own headband. "I figured something like that would happen to him," Kaze sighed as Kiara chuckled.

"Hey, Kaze-chan, Kiara-chan! Lookit!" Naruto called, pointing to his headband.

"Good going, Naru-san," Kaze sighed, crossing her arms in mock disappointment. "You throw the entire village into chaos, and, of course, you pass your ninja exam." She opened one eye to see him staring at her in surprise. "I'm just kidding! I'm really proud!" Kaze laughed, patting his back. She forgot her own strength for a moment and accidentally threw him to the ground.

"Hey, Kaze-chan, Kiara-chan," Sasuke mumbled, sliding into a seat two away from Naruto.

"Hey, Sausy-chan," Kaze replied as Kiara waved. The two girls ignored the seat between Sasuke and Naruto and sat next to Hinata, who was staring at Naruto with a pink tinge to her cheeks.

"He'll never know if you don't say anything," Kiara taunted, taking a seat on one side of their soft-spoken friend.

"He's kind of an idiot, so you better speak up soon," Kaze agreed, sitting on Hinata's other side.

Hinata jerked in surprise, blushing darker at their comments. "B-but he likes Sakura…" She mumbled.

Kaze let out a snort of laughter. "Sakura's doomed to be alone for the rest of her life," she insisted.

"Be nice, she may surprise you," Kiara scolded, earning an even harder laugh from Kaze in response. "Either way, Hinata-chan," Kiara continued, glaring at Kaze half-heartedly. "Naruto will figure out that Sakura isn't the one for him."

"And he'll be looking for the one who is, so you better snap him up before someone else realizes what a prize he is," Kaze finished, successfully keeping a straight face while gagging on the inside. Kiara stifled a giggle by turning to watch Naruto. The other kunoichi had just made their entrances, all demanding to sit by Sasuke, and Naruto was once again getting in Sasuke's face.

"This is not going to end well," Kiara and Kaze mumbled at the same time, already groaning in sympathy. Just as they'd predicted, someone bumped Naruto from behind and he fell face-first into Sasuke.

Kiara and Kaze burst into hysterical laughter as the rest of the class fell silent. The two girls even fell off their chairs in their amusement, having seen firsthand, and successfully taken a secret picture of, Sasuke and Naruto kissing. The two boys jerked away from each other, gagging to the side almost identically, before the Sasuke fanclub girls got a hold of Naruto.

"That was too perfect!" Kaze gasped trying to catch her breath and stifle her laughter.

"I may have shaken my camera when I started laughing," Kiara whined, still giggling.

"That's okay, I took a picture before I knew what was happening, so I think mine is okay," Kaze assured her, tucking her own camera in her pocket.

"Perfect, I'll need that," Kiara stated, hiding her camera also.

"Listen up class," Iruka called from the front of the room. "I'll now be assigning your teams. Each team is made up of three Genin and one Jounin. Your Jounin advisor will come in and pick you up soon after lunch, so here are your teams."

Iruka began listing off teams, putting Hinata with Shino and Kiba, Ino with Shikamaru and Choji, and then listing off Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Naruto immediately put up a fight at that, to which Iruka explained that Naruto basically failed every assignment, test, and practice they'd ever had, while both Sakura and Sasuke had passed them all with flying colors. Iruka explained that the teams needed to be balanced in order for them to function properly. He then called, "Kawa Kiara and Kami Kaze, you two will be on the only team of three, and your teacher will be here after everyone else has gone, so after lunch get yourselves comfortable."

"Why do they get to be by themselves?" Kiba argued, earning a glare from Kaze. He immediately shut his mouth and slouched down in his seat in an effort to hide himself from Kaze's view.

"They balance each other perfectly," Iruka shrugged. "Anyone else would get in the way." Kaze and Kiara snickered at that smiling smugly at the other kids who wanted to put up a fight about them being their own team. "Go have lunch and come back here in an hour," Iruka ordered.

Kaze and Kiara ate a quick lunch with Shikamaru, Shino, Choji, and Hinata before dashing off to find some other people. Kaze ran off in one direction while Kaira ran the other. Both girls met up at the memorial site, seeing that Kakashi was still there.

"I saw Naru-san running while cackling about something," Kaze mused out loud, she and Kiara staying a ways back from Kakashi.

"That must have been right before I saw him ambush Sasuke-kun," Kiara replied, sitting in the grass. "I think Sasuke-kun won, though, cause he jumped out of the window afterwards."

"Maybe," Kaze agreed. "I did see him talking to Sakura… Wait."

"That wasn't Sasuke-kun," Kiara stated, snickering.

"That little prankster," Kaze laughed, flopping herself onto the grass. Right after her outburst she quickly put her hands over her mouth.

"Ah, what are you two doing here?" Kakashi asked suspiciously, already standing over the two girls. "Shouldn't you be waiting for your teacher?"

"Yep," Kaze said brightly. "Shouldn't you be meeting your team?"

"Yep," Kakashi answered just as brightly, sitting heavily down next to Kaze. "Now that we all know what we should be doing, let's sit here in the sun a while longer, shall we?"

"Sounds good," Kiara agreed, leaning back into the grass to copy Kaze, soon followed by Kakashi.

"You're a bad influence, Kashi-sensei," Kaze snickered.

"Maa, if you didn't want to be influenced you wouldn't have been," was Kakashi's easy reply.

"We were defenseless little kids," Kiara argued, watching a cloud breeze by. "Little kids are easily influenced."

"It's true, Kashi-sensei," Kaze agreed. "It's in a book. I read it."

"Well, so is this," Kakashi said, pulling out his Icha Icha book and opening it to a page. Kaze and Kiara quickly looked away. "But that doesn't make this true," Kakashi finished, chuckling as the two girls refused to look at the book.

"That's true, Kia-chan," Kaze agreed. "It's in that book, but that doesn't mean it's true."

"Whose side are you on?" Kiara huffed.

"My side," Kaze stated. "My legs just barely fit on my side, but they're over here."

"You did grow quite tall over the past few years," Kakashi mused. "One more growth spurt like that and you may be taller than me."

Kiara sighed, standing up. "C'mon, lazies," she ordered, pulling Kaze up. "Time to meet our teams." The three of them walked slowly back to the academy, passing Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and their new teacher, Asuma.

Kaze and Kiara glared at Asuma, still angry from when he helped Inuzuka mess up their house. "Hello, Kakashi-san," Asuma laughed. "Still doing charity, I see."

"Charity?" Kaze asked Kiara in a whisper. Kiara shrugged, annoyed. Shikamaru sighed before nudging Choji and Ino. All three pulled out weapons and flung them at Kaze and Kiara.

Kakashi gasped and Asuma dropped his cigarette in surprise; neither teacher saw the two girls move, plucking the weapons out of the air with ease and forgetting their speed in their annoyance. Not a moment after the weapons were thrown, Kaze and Kiara had them hanging from their hands. "Not nice, Shika-san," Kaze whined, dropping the weapons she'd grabbed.

"Just teaching the teacher," Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome."

"That was really cool though," Ino said, grinning at the two girls. Kaze and Kiara looked at each other in confusion. "I had no idea you two could move so fast!" Ino explained while Choji nodded happily.

"Th-that-" Asuma stuttered, gaping at the two girls.

Kakashi put his hands on Kaze's and Kiara's shoulders. "Let's go, we have to meet our teams," he laughed, leading the two girls away.

"They are really skilled," Asuma finally admitted, lighting another cigarette. "I'll have to rethink my opinion of them." He led his team away, musing over what he just saw.


	8. Teacher of the Year

**I changed one little detail because _someone_ *coughKiaracough* wanted to see Kaze get knocked down a peg. Heh, so please enjoy! Reviews are welcome! Tsunade makes her appearance much earlier than she does in the actual Naru-verse. Oh it's a bit long also, sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'cept Kaze, but Kaze's feeling abused.**

* * *

Kaze, Kiara, and Kakashi made it to the academy soon after five in the afternoon. "Let's hope our teacher isn't here yet," Kiara muttered worriedly.

"Ruka-sensei said our teacher would be late," Kaze assured her, opening the door. "I think we-" She was interrupted by a chalkboard eraser falling onto her head, covering her in white chalk dust.

Naruto burst out laughing, Sakura bit her lip before stumbling out apologies, and Sasuke started snickering from his seat. "What's so funny, Sausy-chan?" Kaze asked sweetly, immediately shutting Naruto up. Kaze began trying to dust the chalk powder out of her hair while glaring at Sasuke.

"You getting caught in such a stupid trap is funny," Sasuke answered, smirking at her boldly. "I always thought you would be such a great ninja, but now I see that you're no better than Naruto."

Kaze's eye twitched slightly and she grabbed Sasuke's shirt before throwing him through the window. "Kaze-chan, violence isn't the answer," Kakashi said, chuckling.

"Violence is _always_ an answer," Kaze argued. "It's just not always the _best_ answer."

"Oh, no! Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura cried at the window.

"He's fine, Sakura-chan," Kiara assured her. "Sasuke-kun's a big boy. Besides, Kaze-sama's always losing her temper like that, so Sasuke is used to being thrown."

"Hey, don't tell all my secrets!" Kaze complained, cracking her fingers.

"How do I say this kindly?" Kakashi asked vaguely. "According to my first impression, I think I hate you three!" Kakashi laughed lightly, patting Kaze and Kiara's heads before motioning for Sakura and Naruto to follow him out. They stopped to pick up Sasuke before going off to have their meeting.

"Oh, good, their gone," Kaze sighed, pulling out a crochet hook and her yarn project from her pocket.

"What'cha making, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, watching over Kaze's shoulder.

"A blanket, I think, for Naru-san," Kaze replied, pulling out some more black yarn. "It'll have something orange in the middle, but I'm not sure yet what it'll be."

"How 'bout a fox?" Kiara suggested, flopping herself down into a seat next to Kaze.

"Yea, that'd be good…" Kaze muttered, concentrating on her project. "I just need to find a pattern for it."

The two girls sat in the classroom, Kaze crocheting and Kiara reading a book, until about nine o'clock, when a women finally opened the door.

"Kawa Kiara and Kami Kaze?" She asked. The woman had black hair and dark, kind eyes. She wore the simple kind of dress that most kunoichi wear and had a small pink pig which followed her into the room.

"Yes, ma'am," Kiara answered putting her book away as Kaze slipped her project into her jacket again.

"Follow me, please," the woman said, walking out of the classroom with her pig following.

"Ma'am, what's your name?" Kiara asked while she and Kaze followed the woman.

"Ah, I'm Shizune," the woman said, smiling kindly at the two girls.

"Are you our teacher?" Kaze asked, eyeing the woman.

"Oh, no, I'm your teacher's protector," Shizune laughed. "And this is Tonton, the best ninja pig in the world."

"Doesn't look like much," Kiara muttered.

"Be nice," Kaze ordered, make Kiara nearly trip in shock that the Queen of Mean Comments was telling her to be nice. "Given enough spices and it'd make a meal for at least two normal people," Kaze finished, to which Kiara really did trip.

"And you said I was being mean," Kiara chuckled. "That was, of course, nicer than my comment."

"Lady Tsunade is going to like you two," Shizune laughed.

The two girls followed Shizune to a bar just outside of the village. "Why are we here?" Kaze asked, looking around at the group of people. "Don't tell me our teacher is a drunk?"

Kiara wrinkled her nose in disgust as Shizune led them to the back of the bar. "She isn't a drunk, she just likes to drink," Shizune said.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Kiara whispered to Kaze, who nodded.

"Here they are, Lady Tsunade," Shizune said to a figure laying on a table. A moment later, after no noticeable movement from the figure, Shizune walked around to the figure's side of the table and shook her. "Don't tell me you already got so drunk that you passed out!" Shizune scolded, finally waking the woman up.

She had blonde hair and red-rimmed, green eyes. She rubbed her forehead and when she removed her hand the girls saw a blue diamond shaped tattoo on her forehead. The woman stood up and Kara gaped at the massiveness of the woman's chest before looking down at her own chest. Kiara's chest size had grown immensely over the past few years and she'd begun to feel like she stuck out.

"Lady Tsunade, you're students?" Shizune asked desperately, pointing towards the two girls. Kaze and Kiara started guiltily and bowed low.

"Hey, kiddos," Tsunade slurred, patting the girls on the back and throwing them both to the ground. " 'M you're new teacher, Nade!" She laughed crazily before passing out on the floor.

"This woman's psycho!" Kaze stated, watching Shizune fuss over the other woman.

"C'mon, Kaze-sama, help her out!" Kiara pleaded.

"Why don't you?" Kaze asked as they both dusted themselves off.

"You're the one wearing a thousand extra pounds," Kiara pointed out.

Kaze pouted momentarily as Shizune tried to help Tsunade stand and was instead pinned under the other woman. "Fine," Kaze finally relented, walking over to Tsunade and picking her up easily. With help from Kiara, they situated Tsunade on Kaze's back. "Shizune-san, lead us to where you two are staying," Kaze requested, the extra weight already making her tired.

"Want me to take something?" Kiara asked warily.

"One of my wristbands is 100 pounds, Kia-chan," Kaze sighed. "It would take all your strength to carry just one." Kiara paled, biting her lip.

"You carry extra weight?" Shizune asked, already walking in the direction of the next closest town. Kaze nodded, breathing heavily. "Allow us each to take a wrist band, that might help," Shizune suggested, stopping and holding out her hands. Kaze held one of her arms out towards the woman, who took the wristband there, then held her other arm out to Kiara, who took one on that wrist.

"Much better, thank you," Kaze sighed in relief. The three of them, with Tsunade in tow, walked to the next town and put Tsunade into bed.

"Well, we have a room for you two also, so how about you go there and we'll get you in the morning," Shizune suggested, showing the girls the next room.

Kaze and Kiara went to sleep, still frazzled by their meeting with their teacher. The next morning the girls were woken by the slamming of their door. "Who're you?" Tsunade asked, squinting at the girls through her headache.

"They're your students, Lady Tsunade," Shizune reminded her, following Tsunade into the girls' room.

"I didn't agree to that," Tsunade insisted, her eyes half-closed to stave off her growing headache.

"Yes, you did, Lady Tsunade," Shizune argued. Kaze and Kiara exchanged confused glances. "Remember, a few nights ago you agreed to be their teacher when Kakashi and Gai found us!"

"I don't remember that," Tsunade said, shaking her head stubbornly. "I'm not taking on some brats who can't even control their chakra properly."

"But, Nade-sama, we can control our chakra," Kaze piped up warily.

"What'd you call me?" Tsunade snapped.

"You told us last night that you were Nade, so that's what I called you," Kaze replied, frowning. "You also said that you were our new teacher."

"I don't remember that," Tsunade said again.

"Tsunade-sama," Kiara began. "If you don't want to teach us, we'll go back to the village."

"No. Way," Kaze said, shooting Kiara a defiant look. "I'm not leaving, not after she said she was our teacher."

"She was drunk, Kaze-sama," Kiara replied. "She wouldn't know what she said when she's drunk."

"'S not my fault she's a drunk," Kaze insisted, shrugging. "I want her to teach us."

"Why? We don't know anything about her!" Kiara asked. Tsunade began to feel slightly insulted at that and started to argue with her, but Shizune held a hand out to stop her.

"You didn't carry her all the way from that stupid bar to here," Kaze retorted, finally pulling herself out of bed and slipping her jacket on over her clothes from the night before. "The least she can do is teach us something." Kaze continued to put her weights on.

"But, Kaze-sama," Kiara continued, also getting out of her bed and watching Kaze. "Sh-she was… drunk?" Kiara argued weakly.

"And, besides, you didn't hear Kashi and Ruka talking after class one day about finding 'her' because she'd be the best for us," Kaze continued. "Couple days ago, Kashi came back from his mission all excited and knocked Gai out as soon as he tried to talk to me. This woman is obviously important, so she needs to teach us." Kaze put her hands on her hips and frowned at Kiara. "I'm not going to go home and tell Kashi-sensei that I couldn't be taught by the woman he worked so hard to find."

"That's cause you liiiike him," Kiara teased, making Kaze blush slightly.

"Don't forget, Ruka-sensei also worked hard to get this woman to teach us," Kaze retorted, waving vaguely at Tsunade.

Kiara paled. "Right…" She turned towards Tsunade with a pleading look on her face. "Please take us on as your students!" She begged, clapping her hands together and closing her eyes. After a moment of silence Kiara opened one eye, her hands still clapped together. "Please?"

Tsunade looked back and forth between Kaze and Kiara before she burst into laughter. "You two are hilarious!" She cried. "You're a perfect combination! Okay, I'll teach you two." Kaze and Kiara cheered in victory. "But!" Tsunade yelled above their cheering. "It'll be rough and you'll have to pay attention." The two girls nodded eagerly.

The rest of the day was spent with Tsunade testing the girls' abilities. When the two girls collapsed on their beds that night, Tsunade came into their room. "You two are really intelligent and have an excellent grasp on how to use your chakra," she praised. "I feel like you'll have no problem learning what I have to teach you." She bid them goodnight and allowed them to go to sleep.

Over the next few weeks, Tsunade continued testing the two girls while teaching them medical techniques and how to use their chakra to increase their strength ten-fold. The two girls gradually became proficient at medical jutsu and fighting and defense techniques.

"Good news girls!" Tsunade yelled, bursting into their room just after they finished getting dressed. Kakashi and his team had passed through the town they were staying in and Kakashi had brought them some clothes and gave Kaze a couple hundred more pounds of weights, making her slow for a while.

"Yes, Nade-sama?" Kaze asked warily, slipping her weights on.

"We have our first mission!" Tsunade said, grabbing Kaze's hair and pulling it up into a ponytail. "We have to gather intelligence today about the next town over."

"This is the fourth time we've changed the town we're in," Kiara whined, also allowing Tsunade to put her hair up into a ponytail.

"We need to keep moving, otherwise he-" Tsunade began before stopping abruptly.

"What is it Tsunade-sama?" Kiara asked, both girls suspicious of Tsunade's actions.

"Nothing, we just have to keep moving," Tsunade stated, leaving the room quickly. "Pack up; we'll meet out front in fifteen."

The girls talked quietly while they packed up. "Who is she running from?" Kiara asked, stuffing her mostly folded clothes into a bag.

"I don't know," Kaze muttered back, putting her neatly folded clothes into her own bag. She made sure to put all her projects into her bag under her clothes while hiding her current one in her jacket.

"You think it's someone she knows?" Kiara asked, using a special jutsu to make sure her bag was bottomless in order to stuff her sewing machine in. Kaze followed her friend's lead and made her own bag bottomless in order to fit everything into her bag.

"It might be," Kaze replied. "I guess we'll just have to go along with it until she tells us or we run into him."

Kiara nodded in agreement and the two walked out of the room after doing one more sweep to make sure their presence had been erased from the room. They met Tsunade and Shizune outside, Shizune holding Tonton so that it won't try to run away.

"Let's go, girls," Tsunade said, throwing her own bag over her shoulder and grinning at her students. "It's time to test your skills!"

The four walked just outside the village they were staying in to meet their client. "You have children with you!" The client argued unhappily, fidgeting.

"Nervousness," Kaze stated.

"He may feel guilty," Kiara continued.

"Like he'll get caught."

"I think the person he wants spied on is a friend."

"Or someone else important."

"Lover?"

"Child?"

"You're too soft, Kaze-sama," Kiara laughed.

Kaze watched their client squirm under their scrutiny and laughed also. "Don't worry, we're good at what we do, just leave it to us!" She said, smiling at the man. He still looked worried, but told Tsunade the nature of the job. Minutes later, all four women were sneaking through the trees towards a small cottage in a clearing.

"So, what is our job?" Kiara asked, following closely behind Tsunade with Kaze next to her.

"We have to find out who this man is, if he's meeting with anyone today and who, and anything else we can figure out about him, then report it to our client," Tsunade explained.

"How will we do this?" Kaze asked as Shizune picked up Tonton to keep him quiet.

"We'll stay here until he leaves," Tsunade began. "When he does, Kiara-chan and I will follow him while you and Shizune stay here and look around his house. We need to know everything there is to know about this person."

Kaze and Kiara nodded in understanding, hiding themselves in the trees. Kaze had to keep up a constant flow of chakra that was stronger than the others to keep her additional weights from breaking the tree branch or even bending it in any way.

An hour later, the man left the hut, locking the door behind him. He looked around furtively before scurrying off into the forest. Kiara and Tsunade took off silently after him while Kaze and Shizune ran to the door and window. Shizune peeked inside to make sure there wasn't anyone else before giving Kaze the go ahead. Kaze pulled a bobby pin out from her ponytail and picked the lock, a skill Tsunade had taught them after making sure both she and Kiara always had bobby pins, especially on missions.

Shizune and Kaze crept into the small cottage and quickly looked around, writing down notes in small notebooks so they wouldn't have to memorize every piece of paper in the small room. Minutes later they made sure to put everything back in its places before sneaking out of the cottage and locking the door again. They jumped up into the trees to wait for Tsunade and Kiara.

After hours of watching and following the man, he went to bed. The four stayed for an hour afterwards to make sure he was really asleep before going off to find their client.

"What is this man going to do with this information?" Kiara asked, eyeing their notes carefully.

"What he does isn't our concern," Tsunade said, frowning as they tried to locate their client. "Where is he?" She muttered unhappily. Kaze looked at Kiara before nodding. Kiara nodded back uncertainly as Kaze activated her Byakugan, a family skill (or Kekkei Genkai) that allows Kaze to see 360 degrees around her, chakra channels in a human body, and even through walls. Kaze used her Byakugan to search through the walls of the houses around them until she found their client, talking hesitantly with someone else in the house. Kaze waved her hand to Kiara, pointing at the house and not noticing that Shizune and Tsunade were watching since she was so focused on the client. Kiara stepped slightly within range of the house, using part of her special Kekkei Genkai to listen in on the conversation through some cracks in the wall.

"'Do you think they'll find them?'" Kiara muttered. "That's not our client," she informed the others, still listening in. "'Of course they will, according to my intelligence, those four are superior ninja from a hidden village.'" Kiara's human ears disappeared and were replaced with wolf ones the same color as her hair, causing Shizune to gasp lightly.

"Carefully, Kia-chan," Kaze murmured, still focused on the two figures inside.

"'And what will you do when they find him? Especially if they find information about you?' Not our client," Kiara stated, her voice still low. "'They won't find anything about me.' Cocky, isn't he?" She tsked lightly before training her wolf ears on the house again. "'You just said they were ninja. How do you expect them to not find out?' 'Because they aren't in the hidden village anymore, they might be useless. I just want them to find the guy so I can finally kill him.' 'And if they can't?' 'I'll kill them, that simple.'"

Tsunade huffed, patting Kiara and Kaze on the head. "Good job," she said, sighing. "Now, we have to finish our job." With that, Tsunade knocked on the door.

The client opened the door warily, before noticing the ninja were on the other side of his door. "Oh, hello! Did you find him?" He asked, waving the ninja inside. Tsunade politely declined.

"We found who you wanted us to," she said, ignoring Kaze's seething and Kiara's unhappiness.

"You did?" The client asked, surprised. "That's wonderful! Where is he? What has he been doing?"

"Your son is dead," Tsunade said bluntly, shocking the others. "We found his cottage, watched where he went, followed him when he left. Unfortunately, he never made it back to his home because the one he was meeting followed him and strangled him before he made it back. We can't find the body, but we saw him die and went after his killer. We couldn't find the killer, and when we went back to bring you the body, it was gone." Tsunade bowed her head, Kaze and Kiara following her lead. "We are sorry for your loss."

The client was shocked, but thanked Tsunade and paid her appropriately before walking back into his house. Tsunade led the two girls away, just as Shizune met up with them. "You told him?" Tsunade asked, Kaze looking around to make sure Shizune hadn't been with them the entire time.

"He's packing up and leaving town right now," Shizune said, saluting Tsunade.

"Good," Tsunade sighed. "Let's go eat!" She led them to a bar, and not long afterwards, Kaze was forced to carry her to an inn for the night.


	9. Chuunin Exams!

**Whoo hoo! Time for the Chuunin exams! I cheated a lot during this section, ignoring some things, adding others. Yes, Shino and Neji are really out of character, but I tried to make everyone else as in character as possible! Any suggestions, go ahead and message me. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'cept Kaze.**

* * *

A few more weeks passed with Tsunade taking a few missions here and there and teaching the two girls more and more about using their chakra for medical purposes and about how to use herbs to make antidotes and other potions for medicinal purposes. One day, not long after they'd changed town again, Tsunade and Shizune burst into the girls' room as they were brushing their hair.

"Alright, girls, I think you're ready," Tsunade called, watching Kaze pull her hair in a ponytail and Kiara tie the sides of her hair back to keep it out of her eyes.

"Ready for what, Tsunade-sama?" Kiara asked warily, cleaning up as Kaze put her weights on.

"You two are going to take part in the Chuunin Exams," Tsunade announced.

Kaze and Kiara looked at each other warily as Tsunade led the girls out of the town. "Tsunade-sama, what's the Chuunin Exams?" Kiara asked, following Tsunade with her bags over her shoulder.

"In order to eventually surpass me, you two need to take tests to get higher ranks. The Chuunin Exams are a series of tests that, if you pass, will allow you to gain the Chuunin rank. After Chuunin, you can become a Jounin, which is the highest except for Hokage," Tsunade explained patiently, she and Shizune leading the two girls back towards the hidden village. "Since the tests are being hosted by Konoha, you two will need to do this by yourself, I won't go inside."

"But, Nade-sama," Kaze started, frowning. "How will we know how to register for it and everything?"

"Kakashi should be inside," Tsunade said. "Unless he's late. He'll get you girls set up." Tsunade waved goodbye in front of the village, pushing the two girls towards the gate, before she and Shizune left.

Kiara sighed and she and Kaze jumped over the closed gate and into the village. "You think he's around here?" Kiara asked, looking around.

"No, I think he's at the memorial stone right now," Kaze stated, walking in the direction of the stone.

"Hey, it's Kiara-chan and Kaze-chan!" An annoying voice rang out. "Hey, guys, hey!" Naruto ran up to them, with Sakura and Sasuke close behind.

"Hello, Naru-san," Kaze replied, waving. "Have you seen Kashi-sensei?"

"No, he was supposed to meet us here an hour ago, said he had a surprise for us," Sakura said, clicking her tongue in obvious annoyance.

"Though, if that surprise was you coming back, Kaze-chan, I'm not so sure it's a good surprise," Sasuke said smugly, smirking at her.

"What was that, Sausy-chan?" Kaze shot back, sending him a fake grin while crossing her arms. "You aren't happy to see me, is that it?"

"N-now, now, Kaze-sama," Kiara said, trying to calm them down. "Let's not get into a fight so early in the day!"

"Don't call me Sausy-chan," Sasuke ordered.

"S-Sasuke-kun, she didn't-" Kiara tried to intercept them as they moved closer during their verbal match.

"Don't try to get smart with me," Kaze replied, she and Sasuke nearly head-to-head. "You've gotten even more of an attitude, haven't you?"

"My attitude hasn't gotten worse, you're just not used to it anymore since you two disappeared," Sasuke growled, finally frowning.

"We didn't disappear, Sausy-chan," Kaze sighed, shaking her head and raising her hands.

"Don't call me Sausy-chan," Sasuke insisted.

"We left a note, didn't you read it?" Kaze continued, ignoring Sasuke's protests. "Besides, you four passed through one of the towns we were in and Kashi-sensei stopped by to see us."

"We didn't know that," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "He was late one day when we were supposed to be leaving, and he said he 'got lost on the road of life,' as if we would believe him."

"He's late a whole lot," Sakura said, frowning. "We never know when to expect him to be somewhere anymore."

"Don't worry about it, he really does have a really good reason," Kaze assured them, Kiara nodding in agreement.

"Hello, children!" Kakashi called from a roof.

"You're late!" Sakura accused, pointing angrily at Kakashi.

"Sorry, I ran into-" Kakashi began.

"Hey, Kashi-sensei!" Kaze called, cutting off his excuse. "We were told you'd tell us what to do about these exams."

Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of Kiara and Kaze and picked them both up into a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you two!" He said, setting the girls down and smiling hugely at them through his mask.

"Yea, it has been, Kakashi-sensei," Kiara replied warmly. "So, what are we supposed to do? Ts- I mean, our teacher told us you'd be the person to talk about in order to get set up for these exams." Kaze eyed Kiara when she stumbled over their teacher's name, but a secret look from her friend and Kaze understood that Kiara wasn't sure if they should reveal who their teacher was. Kaze nodded in reply.

"Right," Kakashi began. "Well, first I have to explain these exams to these three then we can get going."

Kakashi led the five kids towards the academy, explaining the exam to the other three as Kaze and Kiara whispered to each other.

"What do you think?" Kiara asked.

"Bout what?" Kaze replied.

"Were already being given these special privileges to be taught, just the two of us, by this great teacher, aren't these tests normally with teams of three? What's going to happen?" Kiara explained worriedly.

"Well, we may have an additional member to our team, or we'll be split up and added to other teams," Kaze replied, biting her lip.

"We can't be separated," Kiara stated seriously. "If we have to be split up, I'm not taking this test."

"We'll see what happens and explain to Kashi-sensei that we won't take this test if we're being separated," Kaze decided, watching Kakashi walk in front of them, still explaining the test.

"Also, you two will be a separate team, according to the Hokage's decision," Kakashi said, answering their unasked questions, smiling happily at the two girls. Kaze and Kiara smiled back gratefully.

Kakashi allowed the five kids to go into the academy, saying, "Remember, it's on the third floor." Then he left.

The five kids walked up to the third floor to see a group of people gathered at the door they needed to be on. Kiara poked Kaze and pointed secretly towards Sakura, who was looking depressed as she followed Naruto and Sasuke. "What's up with her?" Kaze asked, frowning.

"I think she feels useless," Kiara said, tapping her lip with her first finger.

"Well, she is," Kaze said, earning a punch from Kiara. "Ow!"

"Be nice," Kiara ordered, frowning at Kaze.

During their conversation, Lee had been pushed around and Sasuke had led his team to the front of the crowd.

"This is ridiculous," Kaze sighed. "Let's get out of here, Kia-chan."

"Right behind you, Kaze-sama," Kiara agreed. As Kaze tried to walk away, she felt a sharp tug on her hair, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" Kaze yelled. She looked up to see Sasuke smirking at her. "What's your problem, jerk?" She asked, glaring at him.

"You're not paying attention. You should have seen that, Kaze-chan," Sasuke chided. Kaze frowned, hooked her wrist around his ankle, and yanked it forward, causing him to join her on the ground.

"Who's not paying attention now, Sausy-chan?" Kaze asked, chuckling. Kiara helped Kaze stand and they both turned around to see that Kaze's weights had formed a dent in the ground.

"You hadn't used your chakra to cushion that," Kiara muttered. Kaze laughed hesitantly.

"Anyway, I don't see why everyone is surrounding this door," Sasuke said, groaning as he stood up.

"What do you mean, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You must've seen it too, right Sakura-san?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura smiled at him gratefully when she realized what he was trying to do. "Of course I did," she said smugly. "We need to go up another floor, we're still on the second." The jutsu flickered, showing that the floor they were on really was the second still. Kaze sighed, finally leading Kiara away.

"That was ridiculous!" Kaze shouted, walking up the next flight of stairs.

"You don't even want to wait for the others?" Kiara asked, watching behind them in case the others were running to catch up.

"No, they can find their own way, don't you think?" Kaze asked, her and Kiara slipping into the correct room.

"Yea, I guess," Kiara sighed, looking around the room. The ninja in the room ignored the two girls, talking amongst themselves in their groups. Kiara noticed headbands from all different places, and pointed them out to Kaze.

"From everywhere," Kaze whistled, finally noticing people they knew. "Hey, everyone!"

Shino noticed Kaze and tackled her happily. "I can't believe you left us, Kaze!" He scolded, hugging her tightly.

"Again with the hugging, Shino!" Kaze laughed, hugging her friend. "What have you guys been doing lately?"

"We should ask you that," Shikamaru muttered, he, Choji, and Ino all walking up to the two girls.

"Yea, you guys left and everyone seemed to get all depressed," Ino said, smiling at the two.

"You were one of the people talking about how sad you were since they left," Choji said, munching on some potato chips. Kaze stole one and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Where did you go?" Hinata asked shyly, smiling lightly at her friends. Kiba stayed behind her, eyeing Kaze warily.

"We had a teacher who didn't like to stay in the village," Kaze replied, shrugging.

"Yea, she dragged us all over the place," Kiara agreed, waving at Kiba.

Lee, Neji, and Tenten all walked in at that moment, Lee looking slightly beat up. "Lee-kun, what happened?" Kaze asked worriedly, frowning at Lee.

"He got in a fight with that cute Sasuke," Tenten whispered.

"'Cute'?" Kaze asked, raising an eyebrow. Tenten shrugged, shaking her head.

"Hey, Kaze-san," Neji said, his angry look softening as he waved at the younger girl.

"Hello, Neji-sama," Kaze replied, smiling at him. "How have you been lately?"

"Annoyed," Neji said shortly, glaring at Lee before the three of them took some seats.

Fifteen minutes later, after Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto had walked in, an intimidating looking man with scars on his face walked into the room.

"I am Ibiki, the first test of the Chuunin Exams will be a written test," the man growled at the group. "We will give you all a number and seat you separate from your teams. If you are caught cheating…" Kaze tuned the man out, allowing the examiners to seat her separate from Kiara and was handed a test. Kaze looked around before flipping her test over to notice that Kiara was on the right side of the class near the front, while Kaze was on the left side near the back. Kiara was sitting next to a scary looking guy with bright red hair and huge black circles around his eyes. Kaze was sitting between a girl with a fan sitting next to her chair and Neji. Kaze winked at Neji, who broke his general attitude and smiled warmly at her in return, patting her shoulder encouragingly.

Half an hour later, a note appeared beside Kaze and she looked at it warily. Neji eyed the note also, raising an eyebrow at Kaze, who shrugged in reply. A minute later, still looking at it, Kaze picked the paper up warily and flipped it over on top of her test to read it. "Kaze, I don't know number four, please help! Kiara," is what it said, making Kaze smile before looking up at the ceiling. She saw some mirrors moving near the light and sighed, looking out the corner of her eyes to watch the other students, most of them cheating off other test takers. Kaze saw Sakura looking triumphant as she dotted her last eye; a second later movement cause Kaze to look towards Ino, who suddenly slumped forward. Kaze smirked, shaking her head and jotting down her answer for number four on Kiara's note. Then she wrote, "I'm not sure on five or six, help? Also, did you notice everyone else got the point of this test also?"

With that, Kaze sent the note back with a few one-handed hand signs, dousing the smoke quickly to make the note undetectable. Moments later, the note reappeared with Kiara's answer to her questions and a message of her own. "I hadn't even realized! Oh my gosh, that was why Ibiki spent so long describing how we could lose points if we cheat! I just took a chance, hoping they wouldn't see…"

Kaze snickered, jotting down Kiara's answers on her own test. "Too true, though I spaced during his speech. I'm not feeling the greatest, so I figured I wouldn't expend the energy needed to listen to him jabber," Kaze wrote, sending the note back. The rest of the test continued in this manner, Kaze and Kiara checking their answers against each other's while sending notes to each other about the people being kicked out for cheating too many times.

When the time limit ran out for the first part of the test, Ibiki stood up to get everyone's attention. "Time's up. I will now reveal the last question," he said, his voice grave. "Now remember, if you fail this question, you will never ever be able to retake this test in your entire careers of being ninja. If you decide to back out, you can return next year for the next test and try your luck again. Anyone want to leave?" One person raised their hand warily, causing him and his two team members to forfeit. A few more teams quit with encouragement from Ibiki. Kaze yawned, catching Kiara's eye and winking. Kiara sent their note back to Kaze, covering her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Ibiki's really being a jerk, isn't he?" Kiara's note said.

"He's always been like this, remember when he met us?" Kaze wrote back, sending the note to Kiara. Kaze tuned Ibiki out again to remember the time Ibiki scared the two girls when they were just turning nine. Kakashi had made the mistake of telling Ibiki about Kaze and Kiara, and thus Ibiki went out to find the two girls. He questioned the two until Kiara burst into tears and Kaze threw him across the town in anger. When he finally crawled back to where they were, he laughed, which threw Kakashi and Guy for a loop. They explained later that Ibiki never laughs, so seeing him so at ease with the two girls was really strange. Since then, Ibiki always sought the two girls out and talked to them about interrogation, convinced they would become Anbu by the time they were sixteen and would need the skills.

"No, he's really just a big kitten," Kiara's note argued when Kaze came back to reality. Just then, Naruto decided to make a big speech about how he was going to become Hokage and no question would scare him off. Kaze was sure he hadn't answered one question on his test, so his speech actually made her laugh out loud, but she stifled it quickly.

Ibiki eyed the class unhappily for a few minutes before Kaze let out a loud sigh. "Let's go, Biki-san, you of all people should know that nobody will back out now," Kaze called, setting her cheek in her hand, frowning at the older man. Ibiki's lips twitched slightly into a smile before he hid it with his hand.

"I'd forgotten you two would be taking this test," Ibiki growled, setting his face back into a scowl. Kiara smiled and waved from the opposite side of the room. "Alright, I unfortunately need to pass you all. The last question was simply the decision to make choices, no matter how risky."

"That is the most important skill of all shinobi," Kaze and Kiara chimed in for his last sentence, causing him to almost smile again. The girls smiled and waved when he glared at them.

"Anyway," Ibiki growled, silencing the two girls with another glare as they opened their mouths to join him on the speech he had practiced for years around them. "I'm-"

Ibiki was cut off by kunai knives being thrown through the window and sticking to the opposite wall, effectively blocking Ibiki from view with a huge white sheet. Smoke appeared in front of the sheet and Anko stepped out from the smoke. "Hello, kids, it's time for your second part of the test!" Anko yelled.

Kaze and Kiara sighed as Ibiki peeked out from the side of the sheet, watching Anko with his eyebrow raised. "A lot of people still here, did you not do your job well enough, Ibiki?" Anko laughed.

"I wasn't done yet, Anko," Ibiki sighed in reply, waving his hands out to the students. "Go on, get out of here." The kids all stood up warily, walking out of the room following Anko. Ibiki began picking the papers up, looking at each one before adding it to a pile in his hands. As Kaze and Kiara walked out, Ibiki picked up the test from Naruto's place and looked at it before bursting out in uncontrolled laughter.


	10. Test Two

**Really long chapter. Still at the Chuunin exams. Shino is still out of character, and I skipped over completey Sasuke's run in with Orochimaru. It still happens, but Kiara and Kaze aren't there so they don't see it. Also, the three boys from the beginnig have returned! So, if you have any problems with anything, please let me know! Read and review, please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'cept Kaze.**

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The kids all followed Anko to the fenced off forest at the edge of the village after picking up bags from their houses. "Now, you all passed your first test, so this second one is designed to cut down the teams," Anko explained, waving at the fence. "This is the forbidden forest. Each team will be given either an earth or a heaven scroll. Your mission is to make it through this forest and grab another scroll from a different team within three days. You need to get to the tower on the other side of the forest. Also, make sure not to open your scroll before you get to the tower, otherwise you will automatically fail. Good luck." Anko opened the gate and allowed the students to begin filing through.

"Kaze, Kiara-chan!" Shino called, waving the two girls over to him and his team.

"What's up, Shino?" Kaze asked, she and Kiara running over to Shino, Kiba, and Hinata.

"I have a present for you two," he said, smiling at the two of them and handing them a couple of bottles.

"What's this?" Kiara asked, studying the bottle carefully.

"My dad and I made this for you two since you have that glaring issue of yours," Shino said secretly, holding his finger up to his lips. He mussed Kaze's hair up, successfully pulling it out of her ponytail. Kaze frowned at him, running her hands through her hair before pulling it back into a ponytail.

"What was that for?" Kaze asked, pouting at Shino. He shrugged, waving to the two as he followed his team into the forest.

"You're always so calm around Shino-kun, Kaze-sama," Kiara said slyly. "Any reason for that?"

Kaze frowned at Kiara. "He's calming," Kaze shrugged, shouldering her bag and leading the way into the forest. "C'mon, nosy."

"I'm not nosy," Kiara pouted, running to catch up with Kaze.

The two girls ran through the trees, keeping an eye out for ambushes. "Any sign of anyone else?" Kiara asked, landing on the same branch Kaze stopped on.

"I see those kids from Sand," Kaze said, pointing pretty far away.

"That red haired kid who looks like he never sleeps?" Kiara asked, looking at Kaze and noticing that she was using her Byakugan. "Not fair, I don't have a Byakugan," Kiara said, pushing Kaze and making her lose focus and causing the Byakugan to disappear. "What were they doing?"

Kaze reactivated her Byakugan and looked in the direction she'd seen the Sand ninja. "I don't know, they look like they've already found a team with the opposite sc- Oh my gosh…" Kaze gasped, holding her hand up to her mouth and cutting her Byakugan off.

"What? What happened?" Kiara asked, grabbing Kaze's arm as her knees gave out.

"He just… Exploded someone…" Kaze murmured, rubbing her eyes fiercely.

"Exploded?" Kiara asked, frowning. "Like… Exploded exploded, or are you just being overly dramatic again?"

"Like really exploded!" Kaze said, finally finding her feet again and standing on her own. "Come on, let's find someone with the other scroll, far away from here." She jumped in the opposite direction to give the Sand ninja a wide berth as the two girls continued their search for a team with the opposite scroll.

"We need a password," a voice said from below them. Kaze and Kiara stopped and looked down to see Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura kneeling on the forest floor. Kaze snickered, putting her finger to her lips to keep Kiara quiet. She slipped down to the branch below them and flipped upside down, using chakra at her feet to keep her stuck upside down on the branch. She stood straight so that if Sasuke or Sakura stood up and turned around they would immediately see her. Kiara stayed on top of the branch, holding her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggling. Kaze held a finger to her lips to silence Naruto when he noticed her and he kept his face completely straight and listened to what Sasuke was saying.

A moment later, Sasuke stood up and turned around, almost running right into Kaze. "Hey Sausy-chan!" Kaze laughed as he jumped back, nearly letting out a yell of surprise.

"NOT COOL!" Sasuke yelled, losing his cool for a moment and blushing heavily because of it. "DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME!" Naruto, Kiara, and Kaze all burst out into laughter at the sight of a flustered Sasuke.

"You really should know better, Sausy-chan," Kaze chided as Sakura yelled at Kaze. "Always expect me to be right behind you."

"Stalker," Sasuke muttered, walking away. Kaze and Kiara waved at Naruto as he and Sakura followed Sasuke away.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Kiara asked, taking the lead in another direction.

"I don't know," Kaze said, following Kiara but looking off in the direction Naruto's team had gone. "We should keep an eye on them."

"You know what I've noticed?" Kiara asked, looking around in confusion.

"What?"

"We haven't had any problem with bugs lately," Kiara pointed out.

"Not since we came in here, what, an hour ago?" Kaze said, looking around also. "I think it might be Shino and his hair stuff." She pulled out the bottle Shino had given them.

"Why is it working now? We haven't used them yet," Kiara said as Kaze put her bottle away again.

"He did ruffle my hair a bit," Kaze pointed out. "Maybe it was that?"

Kiara shrugged in indecision. The two continued exploring the forest until the sun disappeared and it was too dark to see anything without using up chakra. The two found a good spot and set up camp for the night. The next morning, the two girls continued searching the forest until somebody ambushed them.

"Look at this, two helpless little girls," the ninja said. Kaze and Kiara were backed up against the tree as three older boys, most likely fifteen, surrounded them.

"They look kind of familiar," one of the boys said, eyeing the two girls. Kaze and Kiara looked at each other, having immediately known that the three boys were the same boys that had picked on them all through their silent phase.

"Shall we, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, already getting her chakra ready to strengthen her arms.

"We shall, Kia-chan," Kaze agreed, taking armbands off and slipping them around her belt.

"Wait, I remember them," the third boy said, laughing. "They're the two girls we always picked on when we were younger."

"Haven't seen them in a while, I thought they'd finally left town," the leader said, grinning. "Let's have some fun, for old time's sake."

The three boys advanced on Kaze and Kiara, but Kiara appeared in front of one of the side boys and picked him up as Kaze did the same to the other. They then threw them in opposite directions before turning to the leader.

"So, we'd like your scroll, please," Kaze said, holding her hand out to the boy. He looked off to where the other two had flown, shocked by the change in his prey. After a moment, the boy pulled the scroll out of his bag and Kiara picked him up and threw him away from his friends.

"Is it the one we need, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, dusting her hands off.

"We were lucky, Kia-chan," Kaze replied, holding the scroll up triumphantly. "We got exactly the scroll we need. Now, let's head for that tower and out of this forest before we meet up with anyone else." Kaze handed the scroll to Kiara so that they each had one in their bags. The girls hurried towards what they hoped would be the right direction, jumping through trees and racing past other teams.

"We haven't had a run in with one bug, Kaze-sama!" Kiara said happily, pulling ahead. Kaze slipped on a wet tree branch and fell down the tree, letting out a yell of surprise. Her yell was cut short, causing Kiara to stop in confusion. "Kaze-sama, are you okay?" Kiara asked, looking around for Kaze. She looked down and saw a huge caterpillar with an arm sticking out of it's mouth. "Oh, nasty!" Kiara squealed before she noticed that the arm was Kaze's. "No, Kaze-sama! We're so close to the tower, we can see the entrance! LET GO YOU BIG BUG!" Kiara's ears disappeared, having been replaced with wolf ears and a long tail peeked out from underneath her skirt as her eyes turned red due to her Sharingan. She attacked the huge caterpillar, ripping it apart with her claws in her anger and freeing Kaze.

"EW! THAT WAS DISGUSTING!" Kaze shouted, shaking off some of the caterpillar guts that were covering her from head to toe.

"Hee hee," Kiara giggled, her tail twitching from side to side. "You okay, Kaze-sama?"

"Kia! Change back!" Kaze ordered, startling Kiara. "You never know who can see you in these woods, and we don't want people knowing that you're a werewolf!"

Kiara hung her head, her tail and ears disappearing. "I'm sorry, Kaze-sama, I just panicked when I saw you had been eaten."

"That's fine, Kia-chan," Kaze sighed. "Your family's Kekkei Genkai is difficult to control, especially during strong emotions. That's why I'm here, remember?"

"Maybe you should call me Ookami when I'm freaking?" Kiara suggested. "You know, since I'm a wolf?"

"That's a good idea, Kia-chan," Kaze agreed. "I'll do that from now on when I want to get your attention or when you're in trouble."

"But are you alright, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, looking Kaze over, but not getting to close due to the bug-slime. "Normally that wouldn't have been a problem for you."

"Just not feeling to great, that's all," Kaze replied, smiling reassuringly at Kiara. "We should get to the tower quickly." They ran out of the forest and through a couple of the doors inside the tower. Walking farther in, Kaze still trying to shake off bug guts, the two girls saw a plaque on the wall. Kiara read it while Kaze pulled out her scroll.

"I think it says we open the scrolls now," Kiara said, pulling out her own scroll.

"Well, if we're not supposed to, I guess making it to this tower would have been a waste of time," Kaze agreed. Both girls opened their scrolls quickly. Smoke rose from the scrolls and the girls dropped them on the ground. A figure appeared in the smoke, causing Kiara to gasp in delight.

"Iruka-sensei!" Kiara yelled, throwing herself into Iruka's arms. "It's so good to see you!" Kaze waved, staying away due to still being covered in bug.

"It's good to see you too, Kiara-chan!" Iruka laughed, hugging Kiara and waving at Kaze. "I'm so glad you two made it here! I was sure you'd be the first ones here though."

"We ran into some trouble," Kaze said, shaking her arms again. The bug slime was still thick on her body, refusing to fall to the ground.

"If you hadn't played that awful prank of Sasuke-kun, we would've been here sooner," Kiara scolded.

Iruka laughed. "Well, since you both made it here, why don't you go into the other room and say hello to everyone else who made it here too?" He suggested, opening a door to a lounge-like room. The two girls stepped through, saying goodbye to Iruka.

"Kaze!" Shino shouted from a couch. "What happened to you?" He began laughing as Kaze tried once more to shake some of the goo off herself.

"I was eaten by a bug," Kaze replied grumpily, stalking towards a door with a washroom sign on it.

"You didn't kill it, right?" Shino asked seriously. "I would have liked to see a bug big enough to eat you whole." He laughed again as Kaze glared at him.

"Of course I killed it!" Kiara said indignantly. "It ate my Kaze-sama, and that's not nice!" Kiara followed Kaze into the washroom, offering to wash her clothes as she cleaned the goo off herself.

Half an hour later, Kaze finally pulled herself out of the washroom, completely clean and with clean clothes. "Thank you so much, Kia-chan," Kaze said. "I don't know what I'd do without these things." She indicated her jacket and other weights.

"Probably move too fast and freak everyone out," Kiara snickered. The two joined Shino and Hinata on the couches, watching Kiba eat a bunch of food.

"You two are the third team to make it here," Shino said. "The first one was the one from Sand."

"Ooh, that guy with the red hair is here?" Kaze asked, looking around. She spotted the guy on the window sill not too far behind them and jerked around. "Oops." After a moment, when she was sure he wasn't paying attention to them, Kaze turned around again to study the boy. A nagging thought kept pushing into her head and she stared harder at him to try to clear the memory.

"What's wrong, Kaze-sama?" Kiara asked, watching Kaze.

"Does he look familiar to you, Kia?" Kaze asked, turning dark green eyes on her friend.

"No, I don't think so," Kiara said, barely looking at the boy. She leaned in close to whisper in Kaze's ear, "But he's really scary, so don't let him catch you staring at him."

Suddenly, the memory clicked and Kaze remembered a young boy back when she was about five, right after she and Kiara lost their families. The young boy was with the Kazekage on one of their trips to Konoha, and he had given Kaze and Kiara flowers when he saw them crying. He only told them his name was Gaara before his father pulled him away angrily.

Immediately, Kaze was on her feet and out the side door to the forest. "What is she doing?" Shino asked, watching Kaze pick a pink rose from the bush outside and run back inside.

She made her way to the boy with red hair, even as Kiara tried to whisper warnings to her. The other two ninja from Sand watched Kaze as she approached the boy, even though he ignored her until he was right beside her.

"Gaara-kun?" Kaze asked. The boy's head jerked around in surprise and Kaze held the flower out to him. He stared at it, his normally blank face showing a growing surprise until he slowly reached out and took the flower from Kaze's hand. The other ninja in the room gasped watching the exchange. "You are Gaara, aren't you?" Kaze asked again, smiling widely at the boy. "I knew it. It's really good to see you again." Gaara stared at her in confusion. "You might not remember me, but what you did really meant a lot to Kia and I. Thank you." She bowed slightly in her gratitude before turning around and joining Kiara, Hinata, and Shino on the couch again.

"What did you do that for?" Kiara hissed. "He could have hurt you! Don't you remember what he did at the beginning of this test?"

"I think he's just frustrated," Kaze argued. "Give him a chance, Ookami." Kiara jerked into silence, already wary of her new name.

Hours went by and team after team joined them in the room. Neji, Lee, and Tenten came in just before sunset, Lee completely battered and Tenten once again annoyed at him.

"What happened, guys?" Kiara asked, stifling laughter at Tenten scolding Lee.

"Lee tried to protect that Sakura girl," Neji explained, dropping his cool-guy act for a moment to flop down next to Kaze with a sigh. "Those sound Ninja beat him up pretty badly until those other kids with the blonde girl showed up."

"Ino-kun, Shikamaru-san, and Choji-kun?" Kiara asked, secretly healing Lee so he didn't ache too badly.

"Yea, those three," Neji agreed, spinning so he was laying sideways on the couch, his head in Kaze's lap. Shino frowned at him and Kaze hid a blush, checking Neji's neck and chest for any cuts. "They showed up and gave those sound people a good fight until Sasuke woke up-"

"Sasuke-kun was hurt?" Kiara yelled, surprising Neji and Lee. Neji jumped, disturbing Kaze's hands on his shoulder where he had a bruise. "What happened? Is he okay now?"

"Relax, Kia," Kaze sighed, forcing Neji to lay back down. "He's getting there."

"Yea, he was hurt, but he's okay now," Neji said, laughing slightly at Kiara's outburst. "He woke up and had these weird markings on him. Broke one of the guy's arms until that Sakura girl stopped him." Neji sighed, cracking his neck and closing his eyes. "Sorry, Kaze-chan, I'm exhausted," he apologized, relaxing on Kaze's lap.

"That's fine, Neji-sama," Kaze laughed, having healed his bruise. "It's getting dark out though, are we supposed to stay here at night?"

"Yea, we have rooms for us upstairs somewhere," Shino replied, having already spent one night in the tower. "We should probably get going up to bed, right Kaze?" He pulled Kaze up, disrupting Neji, who had just dozed off. Shino pulled Kaze away with the excuse of showing her the rooms.

Kiara giggled, watching Shino drag Kaze away. "Well, sheesh," Neji groaned, rubbing his head. "I hadn't realized that Shino could get so jealous. If he wanted to put his head on her lap, he could have before I got here."

"Too true," Kiara agreed. "But he's been her best friend for so long, he thinks it'd be weird."

"I think Kaze-chan would let him," Hinata stated, laughing at Shino's actions. "She's sweet like that."

Upstairs, Shino showed Kaze the room she and Kiara would be staying in, which was right next to the room he and Kiba were staying in. "We decided that you and Kiara wouldn't mind staying with Hinata, is that okay?" Shino said when Kaze noticed Hinata's bag already in the room.

"Yea, it'll be fun!" Kaze laughed, setting her bag down on another of the beds. "Like a sleepover."

"So, tomorrow is the deadline," Shino said. "Everyone else who passed should show up by then, right?"

Kaze nodded, leading the way downstairs again to grab Kiara. "Yea, I hope the rest of the rookie's pass," she replied, looking around the room. "Ah, Shika-san!"

Shikamaru turned away from Choji to smile and wave at Kaze. "Hey, Kaze-chan, so you two made it also, huh?" Kaze nodded, watching Choji eat most of the food provided on the table. "Hey, you okay? You look a little pale." Shikamaru's expression turned to that of concern as he placed a hand on her forehead to check for a fever.

"I'm always pale, Shika-san," Kaze laughed, waving his hand away while hiding her worry.

"But your eyes are so dark, are you sure you're okay?" Shikamaru pressed, frowning at Kaze.

"Yes, yes, Shika-san, I'm fine," Kaze laughed again, waving him away and leaning down to help Kiara up.

"But, Kaze-chan-" Shikamaru started again, grabbing her arm.

"I said I'm fine, Shikamaru," Kaze said, her voice low and threatening and her eyes completely black. "Please stop." Shikamaru shuddered at the cold in her voice and let go of her as she led Kiara away.

"She's really scary sometimes," Lee shuddered. Even Choji had stopped eating when Kaze snapped at Shikamaru.

"She used my full name," Shikamaru muttered. "She never uses my full name."

"I guess she was really mad at you," Neji sighed, finally returning to his cool-guy act as he folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs.

Kiara followed Kaze hesitantly as Kaze walked up the stairs and into the room Shino had shown her earlier. "Kaze-sama, are you really okay?" Kiara asked haltingly, expecting Kaze to blow up at her.

"Yes, really I'm fine!" Kaze laughed, flopping onto the bed she'd claimed. "I'm just really tired, so I'm going to go to sleep." She flipped over, motioning for Kiara to turn the light off. Kiara did so, watching Kaze worriedly.

The next morning, Kaze dragged herself downstairs around ten in the morning, her eyes still puffy with sleep and her hair up in a messy ponytail. "Hello, Kaze-sama," Kiara piped up. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Tired, not feeling well," Kaze muttered, flopping onto the couch.

"Normally you're up so early, are you sick?" Shino asked, lifting Kaze's head and sitting down so she could rest her head on his lap. He put his hand to her forehead, not worried that she would get mad at him. Kaze sighed, nodding slowly. "You don't feel like you have a fever," Shino mused, patting Kaze's stomach gently. "Does your stomach hurt?"

"No," Kaze muttered, holding his hand to her head. "You sure my forehead's not hot? Your hand feels cool."

"Yea, you seem like you're at normal temperature," Shino said, watching Neji come downstairs, looking just as haggard as Kaze did. "Want me to get you anything to eat?"

"Not hungry," Kaze insisted, her eyes closed against the light. "Tired, mostly."

"What's wrong, Kaze-chan?" Neji asked, causing Kaze to start in surprise.

"She's not feeling too well," Shino replied, frowning at Neji. "But that's okay, we're almost done with this test, Naruto and his team just came in, and Anko just told us that we should start getting ready for the next part."

"What're we doing now?" Kaze mumbled, dragging herself into a sitting position and adjusting her weights.

"We'll be meeting in the bigger room next door at noon," Shino replied, patting Kaze's head.


	11. Cutting the Number in Half

**Because too many people got through the forest, in the manga the characters had to fight to cut the numbers down. Well, two additional characters were added in here, so there isn't much difference.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own 'cept Kaze, but she's too sick to make any kinds of snarky comments.**

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Two hours later, Kaze allowed Kiara to drag her into the other room and they stood with the other ninja to listen to what was happening next. A young man with gray hair, black eyes, and round glasses said he was out and left, leaving his two teammates still in the room. Kaze shuddered as he passed her and turned her black eyes on him angrily.

"Who's that?" Kiara whispered to Naruto.

"That's Kabuto," Naruto whispered back as Sakura sent worried glances at Sasuke. "He helped us out during this test, stopped Sakura-chan and me from opening our scrolls."

"He's creepy," Kaze said simply, holding a hand to her forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, looking paler than usual.

"Don't worry about it," Kaze said, eyeing Sasuke. "What's up with you?"

"Don't worry about it," Sasuke replied, smirking at her. Kaze returned the smirk before grimacing in pain. "Wow, we're in some sad shape, huh?" Sasuke asked, laughing since he had grimaced at the same time she had.

"Just too much alike," Kaze replied, also laughing. "I think we've spent too much time together."

"We're going to have a smaller tournament right now to cut down the numbers," a man with a sickly look about him called before coughing. "This screen will let you know who's fighting who." He pointed to the screen, which just turned on to show the names of Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi. The proctor pointed to the platforms halfway off the ground. "Wait up there until your name is called to watch the fights.

Everyone walked up to the platforms and Kaze leaned against the railing, sighing heavily. As he passed, Kakashi patted Kaze's shoulder. "Are you okay, Kaze-chan?" He asked.

"Just tired, Kashi-sensei," Kaze replied, smiling at him. Kakashi nodded, sending a worried look at Kiara before walking over to stand with Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke and a man with completely black eyes and a mask covering his face stood facing each other in the middle of the floor. "Is Sasuke-kun going to be okay?" Kiara asked, watching the two worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Kaze snorted, putting her forehead on the bar.

"But he's been holding a mark on his neck for a while now," Kiara insisted, turning her gaze on Kaze.

"If he lets that curse mark take over, he'll never be strong enough to find his clan's murderer," Kaze stated, rolling her head to the side to meet Kiara's gaze.

"How-"

"Nade-san told us about it one day, remember?" Kaze asked, stretching and popping her back. "I think you were really tired that day. She said that Anko-san had one too."

"Really?" Kiara asked, turning to look at Anko, who was watching the fight intensely.

"Yup, Anko-san doesn't depend on it anymore, but it's still there as a reminder of what she almost did," Kaze replied, rubbing her neck.

At that moment, Sasuke and the other boy were hanging in midair as Sasuke fought with his curse mark. Kaze sighed. "C'mon, Sausy-chan, don't be weak," Kaze called, lifting her head to glare at Sasuke with black eyes. Sasuke sent a glare back at her.

"I'm not weak!" Sasuke yelled back, the black marks receding as he flipped around to kick the other guy. "And don't call me Sausy-chan!" He beat the guy up pretty badly and Kaze immediately lost interest, letting her head drop back down onto the bar, accidentally denting it.

"Oops," Kiara laughed, patting Kaze's back. "You really shouldn't mess with him so much, Kaze-sama." Kaze shrugged, rubbing her stinging forehead.

Kakashi disappeared from next to them and reappeared behind the exhausted Sasuke, reading his orange book. "Looks like Kakashi-sensei is going to take Sasuke-kun away," Kiara said, watching Sasuke argue with Kakashi. "He's so stubborn."

Kaze nodded as Kakashi forced Sasuke to leave. "Think he'll seal the curse?" Kaze asked, cracking her neck again as the screen showed "Zaku Abumi & Aburame Shino." "GO SHINO!" Kaze shouted, mustering up all her strength to yell. Shino waved a little as he walked down to the center of the room.

Kiara started and looked at Kaze in embarrassment as Kaze dropped her head back down onto the bar. "Erm, you okay?" Kiara asked, earning a glare from Kaze. "Eh heh, sorry. Yea, I think Kakashi-sensei is going to at least try to seal it."

Kaze nodded, watching Shino's fight as the sound ninja pushed him across the room. She shuddered as Shino's bugs surrounded the other ninja, and felt a spark of chakra when Neji tried to figure out where the bugs were coming from. "What was that?" Kiara asked, also feeling the spark of chakra.

"Neji-sama used his Byakugan to figure out Shino's secret," Kaze laughed.

"You did that once, right?" Kiara asked, also watching the fight.

"Yea, one time when he tormented me with one of his bugs," Kaze replied, shaking her head.

"Didn't he do that every time we slept at his house or he was at ours?" Kiara asked, remembering all the times she and Sasuke were woken up by Kaze's screaming as Shino allowed bug after bug to crawl into Kaze's bed.

"Yea, he did, the jerk," Kaze replied, smiling at the memory. "Sometimes I really hate him." Kaze chuckled as Shino outsmarted the other ninja and beat him at his own game, exploding the other ninja's arms off him.

"Kind of gruesome," Kiara muttered, frowning at Shino's use of unnecessary violence.

"Ruthless, isn't he?" Kaze asked, grinning at Kiara.

"You're eyes are completely black, Kaze-sama," Kiara said, finally worried enough to bring it up. "Are you sure you're okay?" Kaze shrugged off the question, watching the screen in anticipation. Finally, her name came up and she was paired off with a person called Makuno Kira.

"Who's that?" Kaze asked, looking around.

"Mist Ninja," Kiara whispered, looking over at a ruthless looking young man with scars all down his face and arms. He had dark blue hair and silver eyes. Kaze shuddered in anticipation, flipping over the bar and landing heavily on the ground below, leaving a good sized crater in the floor.

"Hey, heavyweight, don't destroy the arena!" Sakura yelled, deciding on a new nickname for Kaze. Kaze grinned at her, climbing out of the crater and adjusting her jacket. She heard Kiara sigh and turned her head to see Kiara shaking her head.

Kira walked down calmly from the platform, seemingly disappointed in Kaze's display. "Now, remember, I will stop you if I feel a winner has been decided," the proctor said, coughing a few times as Kaze faced off with Kira. Kaze nodded as Kira sighed. "Alright, go ahead." The man stepped away to allow the two to fight.

Kaze eyed Kira, tilting her head in anticipation. "Well, what're you waiting for?" Kaze asked when Kira still didn't move. A moment later, she felt him behind her and spun around to kick him in the head.

"You're slow," Kira sighed, grabbing her foot out of midair. Kaze grinned and her body turned into a figure of fire.

"And you're stupid," Kaze said from off to the side. Kira jumped away from the fire, shaking his arm to put the fire out climbing up it. "Did you really think that I would let you catch my foot?" Kaze asked, snickering.

Frowning, Kira attacked Kaze again. Kaze's weights slowed her down just enough that she could only block his attacks. After a moment, Kaze became bored with the routine and allowed one of his kicks to connect, hearing it crack as he kicked her weighted coat.

"Ow, ow!" Kira muttered, hopping away and studying his now broken foot.

"Be careful walking on that," Kaze growled, setting her ankle weights on the ground to enhance her speed before she attacked. Kira couldn't raise his arms to defend himself as Kaze wrapped his broken foot in healing chakra and flicked his forehead. His eyes glazed over and he dropped to the ground in a faint. Kaze eyed him for a moment before going to put her weights on again. "Check him, I think he's done," Kaze shouted to the proctor, who jogged over and checked Kira's vitals.

"I guess you're the winner," the proctor said, waving the medical ninja over to take Kira away.

"Lovely," Kaze said, using chakra to help her jump up to the platform. She flipped over the bar again and settled her chakra flow back to what she normally used to keep herself above ground.

"Stop showing off," Kiara hissed, frowning at Kaze. "It's not very nice, you even surprised Shino-kun." Kaze looked over at Shino, who was staring at her in shock and smiled brightly, waving.

"I wasn't showing off, that was normal," Kaze shrugged, slipping down to the floor with a sigh. "I'm tired, I hope you're next, I want to go to sleep soon, but I don't want to miss your fight." Kiara laughed, leaning against the wall as the screen showed "Tsurugi Misumi & Kankuro."

"Hey, it's that puppet guy," Kiara said. "Use your… Erm, ability to find out what he is," she ordered, poking Kaze. Kaze frowned at her and she laughed apologetically.

Using her Byakugan, Kaze stared hard at Kankuro, even as he was wrapped up in the other ninja's body. "He's not anything," Kaze said, deactivating her Byakugan.

"Huh? Not… anything?" Kiara asked, confused and not paying any attention to the cracking sound that would normally signify a breaking neck.

"Wood, I'm guessing," Kaze reiterated, rubbing her temples. "The real Kankuro is wrapped up in those bandages. That guy," she pointed to the black haired, limp body with the paint on the face, "is just a puppet. The puppet-master is on it's back."

"Ah, we were right then," Kiara said, nodding. The puppet turned around and immediately killed its opponent as Kankuro appeared from the wrappings.

"You were right, I didn't much care," Kaze said, pushing Kiara's leg. "But yea." Sakura and Ino were shown next and each girl walked down to the floor. "Oh, great," Kaze muttered. "Wake me when it's over." Kaze leaned back and immediately dozed off. The two girls fought for what seemed like forever until they knocked each other out. Kiara pushed Kaze to wake her up as Tenten and Temari went down to the ground to face off.

"So, who won?" Kaze asked, eyeing Temari warily.

"It was a draw," Kiara replied, looking Sakura and Ino over worriedly.

"I bet their fine," Kaze snorted, poking Sakura with a foot. She groaned slightly and woke up, just as the battle below ended. Kaze and Kiara hurried to the bar to see what happened. "Oh, Tenten-san!" Kaze called, ready to vault over the bar. Kiara reached out and pulled her back just in time. Temari threw Tenten and Lee caught her.

"Don't, Kaze-sama!" She ordered, flinging Kaze back onto the platform. Lee lost his cool for a moment and went to attack Temari, but she stopped him and Gai ordered Lee to stop. Gaara muttered something to his teammate and Temari quit sneering. "We can't help everyone!" Kaze pouted, but stayed where she was as Tenten was carried away and Temari walked back to her place, standing smugly next to Gaara, who was staring at something he held in his hand.

Kiara's name popped up on the screen, informing them that she was facing off against someone named Kae Mina. "Mina? What kind of name is that?" Kaze asked as Kiara calmly walked down to the floor.

"It's backwards to you," a girl said politely, smiling at Kaze as she walked past. "My family name is Mina, my first name is Kae." Kaze nodded in understanding, eyeing the girl with her Byakugan. Kaze noticed Kira walking back in and standing on the other side of the sound Ninja.

Kae cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms above her head as Kiara waited patiently. "You may begin!" The proctor called, coughing again. Kiara stood, waiting for Kae to attack. A moment later, Kaze ripped the bar off the platform as wolf ears sprouted from Kae's head and a tail swished around her legs.

"You seem surprised, Kaze-chan," Kakashi said, pulling the heavy bar from his former student's hands. "Is that something you've seen before?"

"I'm not surprised, Kashi-sensei," Kaze said, yanking the bar back to bend it into a ball. "Not surprised at all." Kiara snarled on the floor, suddenly backing away from Kae as Kae pounced. Within moments, Kaze calmed down and began untwisting the bar, not noticing the shocked looks she was getting from the other people on the platform and the proctor.

"I'm glad she didn't do that to me," Kira muttered, hiding behind the sound Ninja as he watched Kaze unravel the metal bar like it was a piece of yarn.

"What are you doing, Kaze-chan?" Neji asked, walking up to his friend warily.

"I'm fixing what I broke in my haste," Kaze replied simply. "I realize now that I don't have anything to worry about down there."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, watching the fight. "That's one crazy ability! Freaky almost! How's Kiara-chan going to get out of that?"

"Kae, though she has some abilities of a wolf, has no idea how to use them," Kaze replied, replacing the bar and squeezing some of the metal around the edges to hold it in place. "Kiara can handle that, and I bet she's realized that."

Kaze's statement proved true when Kiara suddenly flipped the other girl over her head and nearly buried her in the concrete ground. Kae gasped in pain and Kiara backed away. Kae seemed to have a few more tricks, because she pulled herself, with some difficulty, out of the ground and launched herself once more at Kiara. Kiara used the same trick as before, this time flipping Kae over her head and throwing her at the wall, successfully leaving a dent in it.

Kae pulled herself out of the wall and stumbled back over to where Kiara was standing. Kiara dodged Kae's clumsy attacks before flipping around to kick her in the stomach, effectively knocking her out. Kiara stepped over Kae and walked up the stairs to where Kaze was trying to hide the damage she'd just caused.

"What did you do?" Kiara asked, putting her weight on one foot and her hands on her hips, not missing Kaze's guilty looks.

"Nothin'," Kaze sulked, putting her hands where she'd broken the bar off. She leaned on it a little too hard and her chakra wasn't enough to keep the little weight Kaze put on the bar from knocking it off again. "Erm… I broke it," Kaze said, laughing warily.

Kiara glared at Kaze for a moment before also laughing. "Don't do that anymore, Kaze-sama," Kiara scolded, watching the bar fall to the ground below. "Next time you may fall off with it."

"Wow, you beat that wolf-girl!" Naruto yelled in excitement, causing everyone around him to roll their eyes. Shikamaru and the girl from sound, Kin Tsuchi, was next and Shikamaru sighed as he walked past Kaze and Kiara.

"I don't really want to fight a girl," Shikamaru sighed, his hands in his pockets. Kaze laughed and patted his back, accidentally causing him to be thrown to the ground.

"Oops, sorry Shika-san," Kaze laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "You'll do fine!"

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled himself up and walked down the stairs. The ninja surrounding Kiara and Kaze moved back to the bar to watch the fight and Kaze pulled Kiara away from them to whisper, "Was that girl part of your family?"

"No, no, I don't think so," Kiara replied, also whispering. "She didn't smell familiar, and I never forget a scent."

"Hmm… Maybe it was an illusion?" Kaze suggested.

"Why would she have used it during the fight? Did she know it would throw me off?" Kiara asked, tapping her lip in thought.

"I think that Kira guy is on her team, and he was watching me pretty closely when I ripped the bar off," Kaze mused.

"You do hide your abilities worse than I do," Kiara said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yea, but I'm not a werewolf!" Kaze insisted, frowning.

"Well, you know that, and I know that, and hopefully no one else knows that anyone is a werewolf," Kiara said, sighing. "But we'll have to be careful, you never know when someone is watching."

"But…" Kaze started, biting her lip.

"Right, you're having your issue right now," Kiara interpreted, sighing. "What'll we do?" Shikamaru knocked the sound ninja out by having her knock her head on the wall behind her. He walked up to the platform again, ignoring Kaze and Kiara huddled near the stairs and walked back to his team.

Kiba and Naruto were next. "Watch me, Kaze-chan, Kiara-chan. I'll beat him in a minute!" Naruto said, laughing. He and Kiba walked down to the floor and Kiara and Kaze went back to talking.

"So, what do you think?" Kiara asked, sighing.

"We'll just have to wait, I can't do anything about this," Kaze stated, frowning.

"You're canines are turning into fangs, though," Kiara pointed out, causing Kaze to growl at her. "I'm just saying," Kiara said, raising her hands in defeat. Everyone at the bar gasped simultaneously and the two girls ran to the bar to see what was happening. Kiba was lying on a stretcher and the proctor had just announced Naruto the winner. Hinata had run down to the floor to give medicine to the two, blushing fiercely when she handed it to Naruto.

The screen showed the names Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji and Kaze groaned. "Oh, dear," she muttered, shaking her head and shooting Neji a look, which he ignored.

"What, what's going on?" Kiara asked, looking between Kaze and Neji. "Why did you groan about this matchup?"

"Because Neji despises Hinata for being part of the head of the family," Kaze explained, her eyes trained on the two facing off on the floor.

"He won't bring that into this fight, right?" Kiara asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately, I think he'll use this chance to seriously hurt her," Kaze sighed, frowning as the fight started. As she'd predicted, Neji used verbal jabs to throw Hinata off before attacking. Naruto had yelled encouragement, and because of that, Hinata used her own Hyuga abilities to fend off Neji's attacks, even getting in a few of her own. Kaze didn't cheer for either Hyuga, torn between her crush and her friend, but Kiara cheered loudly for Hinata along with Naruto and Sakura.

After quite a few attacks back and forth, blood started gushing from Hinata's mouth. Kaze gasped in worry and Kiara fell silent in her shock. "What just happened?" Kiara asked, peering closely at the two on the floor.

"Neji hit some vitals with his gentle fist," Kaze said, sighing.

"What does that mean?" Kiara asked, turning her gaze on Kaze.

"The gentle fist is an ability the Hyuga's have that uses their Byakugan, which can see through people and things, to hit organs and chakra points in a person's body," Kaze explained. "I don't like it, but when the head of the Hyuga family decided I needed training specific to Hyuga abilities, he taught it to me. Neji is amazing at the gentle fist, not that the head cared much. Anyway, Neji just hit one of Hinata's vitals; that's why she's throwing up blood."

"What'll happen?" Kiara asked, biting her lip.

"If it continues, Neji may stop her breathing," Kaze said, pulling her jacket off and setting it gently near the wall.

"What? We have to stop him!" Kiara shouted. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to stop him," Kaze replied, setting her belt and arm bands with her jacket as Neji kept attacking Hinata.

Just as Kaze was setting her ankle bands down, the proctor declared Neji the winner, but Hinata wouldn't stay down. Neji glared at her and ran to attack again, causing alarm to run through all the teachers. Kaze had already launched herself over the bar and tackled Neji. "Stop it Neji!" Kaze shouted, holding her crush down on the floor. The other teachers appeared around them, Kakashi shaking his head.

"How did you move so fast?" Kurenai asked Kaze, who was still holding a struggling Neji down. Gai helped Hinata to a stretcher and Kiara ran down to check on her.

"Desperation," Kaze replied, Neji finally calming down and dropping his head onto the ground. "You already won, Neji-sama," Kaze said gently, standing up off him and holding a hand out. "She has no choice in what she is, so let it go!" Neji glared at Kaze, ignored her hand, and walked up to the platform to stand near Lee.

"Neji-san's mad at you," Kiara muttered.

"How's Hina-chan?" Kaze asked, ignoring Kiara's remark.

"The medical idiots wouldn't let me get too close, but she'll survive," Kiara said, following Kaze up the platform.

"Good," Kaze sighed. "I'll patch things up with Neji-sama later, as long as Hina-chan's okay."

Lee started yelling some nonsense about wanting to go last until the screen showed Gaara and Rock Lee. When Kaze looked down at the floor, she noticed with some surprise that Gaara was already there. Gai gave some useless advice to Lee before Kaze walked up to him. "Hey, be careful, Lee-kun," Kaze stated. "I know Gai told you that the gourd is suspicious, but mostly I just don't want you to get cocky."

Lee saluted. "I promise I'll be careful," Lee said. "I do have the same secret you do, so I'll be okay!" Kaze smiled at him and he jumped over the bar and to the floor.

Kaze stopped paying attention to the fight as she slowly pulled on her weights. Neji tried to ignore Kaze, but wasn't happy that she didn't go over to talk to him, so eventually he walked up next to her. "Why did you protect her?" Neji asked, leaning against the bar.

"Hinata's my friend," Kaze replied, flipping around so she was facing the wall with her back to the bar. This way, she and Neji were facing opposite ways since she lost interest in the fight and Neji was watching his teammate go up against Gaara.

"But you stood up to me," Neji said, frowning.

"True, but if someone was about to kill you I would have done the same to them, Neji-sama," Kaze explained.

"I wouldn't have killed her," Neji pouted.

"You hate her," Kaze countered.

Neji stayed silent, watching Lee drop his weights to everyone's surprise. "When Lee said he had the same secret as you, is that what he meant?" Neji suddenly asked, turning his head to watch her reaction.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Kaze asked. Neji nodded. "Yea, we both wear weights."

"That's why you formed that crater earlier during your fight," Neji said, nodding his head in understanding. "And you could move so fast before because you'd pulled all your weights off."

"Yup," Kaze nodded. Below, Lee and Gaara were really beating at each other, Gaara keeping his cool and Lee trying to break through it by kicking him around. "I went through the same training Lee did because Kashi-sensei insisted I get different types of training."

"So you were trained by Gai-sensei?" Neji asked, wincing as Gaara began crushing Lee's leg and arm.

"Yep," Kaze answered, following Kiara down to the floor as Gai appeared in front of Lee to protect him. The proctor had already declared Gaara the winner and Kiara ran to Lee's side to try to heal him as Kaze made her way through the sand to Gaara. The sand around her began moving back into Gaara's gourd and Kaze kneeled in front of him as he sat up.

"Let me help," Kaze said, holding her hands out to Gaara's face. He jerked away in surprise his eyes showing actual fear. "Please, Gaara-kun," Kaze asked, stopping her hands from moving closer. "You're bruises will get worse if I don't heal them." Gaara held still, watching Kaze closely as she wrapped her hands in healing chakra and put them on the bruises on his face. When she was finished, she pulled her hands away quickly. "That was really impressive, and I'm glad you didn't kill Lee-kun, Gaara-kun," Kaze said, smiling at him before standing up to walk to where Lee was being put on a stretcher.

"I don't think he'll be able to move properly again," Kiara whispered, shaking her head. "His arm and leg are crushed and there's something wrong with his spine. I just don't know what to do for him."

Kaze sighed, staying on the floor for another minute before following Kiara up to the platform. Kaze noticed that Gaara had already made his way up to stand next to Temari. Another couple of fighters from someplace Kaze couldn't remember stepped up. Minutes later the girl, Kara, won after throwing the boy literally out the door, thus knocking him unconscious.

"Just one more, right?" Kaze asked. Kiara nodded. Choji and the bandaged guy from Sound faced off. Choji used his expansion Jutsu and put his head down in his body to hide his ears. The sound ninja defeated him quickly when Choji ran into the wall and the other ninja buried his arm in Choji's side. He flicked his arm where he had a weird contraption and Choji let out a yell of pain before falling onto the ground, normal sized and unconscious.

"There we are, all done," Kiara muttered, pulling on her hair. The proctor waved the winners down to the floor and Kiara and Kaze lined up with everyone else who was there.

"Twelve winners, so we'll have you pick numbers to decide who fights who," the proctor explained, coughing. He allowed Anko to hold a box around to the winners and they each picked a number. "We'll cut the numbers down in half during team battles, so you will see that there are only the numbers one through six."

Kaze pulled a paper out and unfolded it to see the number six. Kiara pulled a paper out next and opened it to reveal the other six. They showed each other and snorted in laughter. "What?" Anko asked looking at their numbers. She sighed and took the numbers, stuffing them back into her box and shaking it up. "Here, try again," Anko ordered, holding the box out to them. Kiara picked first, then Kaze. When they opened their pieces of paper, they both started laughing again, revealing their sixes to Anko.

"What's going on?" The proctor asked as Anko took the papers back again and forced them to choose again. Both girls did so, once more getting six and bursting into laughter.

"They keep getting six," Anko replied, frustrated and taking the papers back. "The Hokage doesn't want them on the same team for this round. He said it would be too much of a disadvantage for the other teams."

"Then do this," the proctor sighed, taking one of the pieces of paper and putting the other back into the box. The girls pulled their numbers and opened them to reveal two fours.

"This is ridiculous!" Anko shouted, opening the box and pulling out the doubles. "Try it now!" Both girls pulled out their numbers. Kiara opened hers to reveal a four, and Kaze revealed a six. They grinned at each other and showed Anko their numbers. "Finally," Anko sighed, putting the doubles back into the box.

When everyone pulled their numbers and Sasuke, who was still gone, was given one, Kaze and Kiara found that they would be fighting each other in the first round. Kiara was teamed with Gaara, who ignored her, and Kaze was teamed with the absent Sasuke. Naruto was put with Temari, who didn't look happy about it, while Neji and Shikamaru were put on a team. Shino was put with the Sound ninja, and Kankuro with Kara.

"Now, you'll notice that you've been paired with someone that you wouldn't normally fight with," the proctor explained. "But don't worry, because the teams that win the first round will be separated for the rest of the rounds. The tournament will begin in two weeks, so train hard." The proctor dismissed them and Kiara and Kaze walked out together, discussing what they'd just heard.

"You're paired up with Sasuke-kun!" Kiara said sulkily, earning a glare from Kaze. "But I bet Gaara-san will be a good partner," she amended, trying not to flinch.

"I'm just worried about us fighting," Kaze sighed. "And I don't think Shino will work very well together with that Sound guy. And he puppet master, Kankuro, is teamed up with that girl I didn't pay much attention to."

"What about Temari-san and Naruto-kun?" Kiara laughed. "And they have to fight Shikamaru-san and Neji-san in the first round!"

"Right, that will be a tough battle to watch," Kaze mused, ignoring Naruto as he called out to her. "But at least it doesn't have to be the entire team that advances."

"Oh, yea, he said that when two people either forfeit or can no longer battle is when the match is over," Kiara said, nodding. "So that means that, what, half of both teams could advance, right?"

"Yup, which will be good," Kaze replied, opening their door. "Not only that, but we could be knocked out in the first round and still become Chuunin. They don't decide on who wins, rather, who is better at being a ninja. So even if someone uses sneaky ways to win, they still might not become Chuunin."

"Well, good!" Kiara said, clapping. The two girls talked a bit more until Shino appeared at their house and forced them to go to bed, crawling in with Kaze.


	12. Kaze's Secret and Test Three

**You get to learn more about Kaze! Yay! Dun dun dun...**

**Disclaimer: Do not own, cept Kaze.**

* * *

The next morning, Kiara walked into Kaze's room to see Shino hugging her tightly in his sleep. Kaze rolled her eyes to where Kiara was standing, laughing at her predicament, and growled, "Get him off of me!" Kiara started, confused, but helped Kaze pull the still unconscious Shino from Kaze's waist.

"What's wrong, Kaze-sama?" Kiara whispered, following Kaze out of her room as Kaze pulled on her jacket and other weights. Kaze growled in response, nearly running downstairs in her haste. "Did Shino do something?"

"He cut his arm on my side table," Kaze muttered, starting up some tea and tapping her fingernail impatiently on the countertop, successfully cracking it.

"Well, didn't you heal it?" Kiara asked, frowning and pulling Kaze's hand away from the counter.

"Can't focus my chakra," Kaze replied shortly. "You do it. Before he gets down here."

"But isn't this a good thing?" Kiara asked, refusing to walk back upstairs. "Now you don't have to bite him! Just do it while he's still asleep and already bleeding."

"NO!" Kaze shouted. Kiara flinched away and fell silent until they heard a foot on the stairs in the other room. "Heal him, now," Kaze ordered, holding her breath.

"Kaze-sama, you need-" Kiara started desperately.

"I don't need it and I won't do it! Not to Shino!" Kaze interrupted. "I won't be like my parents, I refuse."

"But you can't just-" Kiara started again.

"Go. Heal. Him," Kaze ordered slowly, turning black eyes on her friend.

Kiara huffed, but went into the other room, surprising Shino just behind the door. "Oh! Did you, um, hear that?" Kiara asked, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal.

"What's wrong with Kaze?" Shino asked, frowning at Kiara, his blue eyes showing his concern.

"She's just not feeling well is all," Kiara laughed, sitting Shino down on the couch. "Now, I heard you cut your arm? Let me see it."

"Kiara-chan, I've been wondering this for a while now," Shino began, hiding his still-bleeding arm from Kiara. Kiara cocked her head to the side, encouraging him to continue. "What is Kaze?"

Kiara hesitated before answering, "What do you mean 'what is she'?" She bit her lip, hoping Shino would ask the right question so she could give a small hint at the answer.

"She's not quite like myself or any other ninja," Shino began, watching Kiara carefully. "She's more like you, but I'll ask what you are later, I'm worried about Kaze right now."

"Go on," Kiara said, watching the door to the kitchen in case Kaze was listening and decided to burst through.

"She nearly ran away from me this morning," Shino said. "I was awake, yes. But I don't know why. When I came downstairs she said something like 'he cut his arm on my side table'? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I can't answer that question, Shino-san," Kiara stated, only slightly emphasizing the word "that." "Anything else?"

"Her eyes are black," Shino began. Kiara nodded, allowing him to keep talking. "Her teeth are… sharp?" He continued, watching Kiara nod slowly. "She doesn't like being around blood." Kiara suddenly stopped nodding, raising an eyebrow at Shino. "No, she… She craves…." Kiara started nodding again, her eyebrows raised in anticipation. "Don't tell me she's a vampire," Shino said seriously just as Kaze burst through the door.

"What are you talking about?" Kaze asked, trying to stay calm. "Vampires aren't real."

"Kaze!" Kiara shouted, causing Kaze to jump. "You need blood, just tell Shino and I bet he can help! Get over your pride, d- dang it!"

Kaze began snickering. "You almost cussed, Kia-chan," she laughed.

"You are making me mad!" Kiara snorted in reply, placing her hands on her hips. "And don't change the subject! You need blood to continue moving around, just tell him!"

"You really are a vampire?" Shino asked, his arm no longer bleeding.

"No, vampires aren't real," Kaze sighed. "My Kekkei Genkai… My family trait is being what people say are vampires. We're fast and strong normally, but we need blood almost every month. If not, our eyes get black and we feel sick."

"Not a very useful family trait," Kiara snorted.

"And yours is better?" Kaze asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ouch," Kiara replied, frowning. "Fine, I get it, you're already agitated and are just taking it out on me," Kiara amended when Kaze sent her a pleading look.

"If you need blood-" Shino started, standing up.

"No, I won't do it," Kaze interrupted, folding her arms across her chest. "I won't take blood, no matter what."

"But you need it," Shino argued, scratching his neck in irritation. "If you need it to survive, just take some of mine! Obviously you don't need all of it, otherwise Kiara-chan would be more worried about it."

"No, not all, just a little bit to satisfy until next month," Kiara said, sitting down. "Just take his offer, Kaze-sama." Kaze stubbornly shook her head, looking away. Kiara sighed, standing up again and pulling a knife from a drawer in the living room. "Sorry, Shino-san," she said, bowing in apology. Shino shrugged and folded his hands behind his back, holding his head up so his neck was exposed.

Kaze, still slowed down by her sickness, didn't have to speed to stop Kiara when she attacked Shino, slicing the side of his throat open. "Kaze, he's going to bleed to death," Kiara said calmly, putting the knife back and leaning against the couch. Shino was already turning pale as blood flowed from his neck. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily, before Kaze attached her mouth to his neck. She successfully closed the wound and cleaned his neck before turning angry green eyes on Kiara.

"DON'T YOU EVER ATTACK HIM AGAIN!" She shouted before stomping out of the room and back into the kitchen.

"How did she heal me?" Shino asked, thoroughly confused and weakened by the loss of blood.

"Here, sit down and I'll explain the rest of her family trait to you," Kiara suggested, leading Shino to the couch again. Shino gratefully sat down, watching Kiara as she gathered her thoughts. "Kaze's family has… different healing abilities than that of normal shinobi," Kiara began, sitting on the side of the loveseat. "Their saliva can close any wound and disinfect it, and they can successfully pull poison out of a person's body, even if it's circulated throughout, without pulling out a drop of blood. Their saliva, when ingested, yea it sounds disgusting, acts as an anti-poison. For any poison. Or anything that could possibly threaten the human body from within: poison, viruses, anything."

"That's much more useful than she let on," Shino said, laying down on the couch. "Why'd she make it seem so bad?"

Kaze walked into the room, carrying three cups of tea and managing to keep them all steady while muttering "Bawitdaba de bang de bang diggey diggey diggey said de boogey said up jump de boogie" repeatedly in a kind of chant, bouncing to the beat in her head. (A/N: Bawitdaba by Kid Rock, it's been stuck in my head for about a month and I had to add it somewhere!)

"Because she hates her ability," Kiara answered, accepting a cup of tea from Kaze. Kaze set another cup in front of Shino on the coffee table before sitting down sideways in an armchair. "It's useful, but comes with the downside of her craving blood, needing it on a regular basis, and therefore preying on other humans."

"Right, and you can't tell anyone about this, either," Kaze said unnecessarily, already knowing that Shino would never give away one of her secrets.

"Well, duh," Shino replied, rolling his eyes and picking the cup up with shaky hands.

"Also, you'll be slightly anemic for a while, but it shouldn't last more than a couple of days," Kaze explained. She paused for a moment, staring into her cup sadly. "Sorry, Shino, I didn't want you to have to be part of this," she muttered, resting her head on her cup.

Shino laughed, waving his hand as if to wave off her comment. "Let's go out to eat, it's already almost lunch time!" Shino said, running, slightly unsteadily, upstairs to get dressed in clothes he had left at the girls' house.

Kaze and Kiara watched him try to act as if he wasn't affected and shook their heads in amazement. "I can't believe he took all that like it was nothing," Kiara muttered, putting her cup away.

"Yea, he's always been pretty accepting like that," Kaze laughed.

The three of them walked out of the house and grabbed some lunches to go at one of the restaurants near them before joining Hinata and Kiba on a roof. "Hey, guys," Shino said, his voice calm.

"You okay, Shino?" Kiba asked, noticing Shino's shaky hands as he ate his lunch.

"I'm fine, just a little…. Anemic right now," Shino replied, waving off his teammate's concern. "I accidently cut myself at Kaze's house and lost a lot of blood last night." They kept talking as Kaze watched people go by on the street below.

"Ah, there's Gaara-kun!" Kaze said suddenly, pulling an extra lunch out from her bag and jumping down in front of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

"What is she doing?" Kiba asked incredulously, watching the obviously suicidal Kaze talk with a monster below them.

"I have no idea, I try not to keep track of her all the time," Kiara sighed, eating her lunch.

"Hey, Gaara-kun!" Kaze said, smiling at the surprised Gaara. "Would you like to join us for lunch? We have extra!"

"Where did you come from?" Gaara asked slowly, trying to decide if he should implode her with his sand now or wait to find out what she was first.

"Up there," Kaze replied, waving noncommittally above them. "Would you like to join us?"

"Why didn't I sense you?" Gaara asked, ignoring her request and surprising his teammates.

"Because I have a very bland chakra flavor!" Kaze snapped, losing her temper. "Do. You. Want. To. Join. Us?" Kaze asked again, holding the extra meals she had bought out to him. He eyed her warily as Kankuro eyed the food.

"No, he doesn't," Temari replied snottily. Kaze glared at her angrily.

"Gaara-kun?" Kaze asked, turning her gaze back to Gaara.

"I'd like to," Kankuro finally piped up, causing Kaze to smile and hand him one of the extra meals. Temari frowned at him, but he took one more meal from Kaze and forced Temari onto the roof. "If she has a death wish, let's at least get a free meal out of it," Kankuro suggested, forcing Temari to sit down with the group already on the roof.

Kaze watched Gaara for another moment before she became impatient and grabbed his hand, almost dragging him onto the roof and pushing him over to the group, completely unaware of his rising anger. "Sit," she ordered, already forcing him into a sitting position. "Here," she handed him the extra meal and returned to her place next to Hinata. "You like dumplings, right?"

Gaara stared at the boxed lunch, his anger disappearing. "How did you know?" He asked, slowly eating one of the dumplings.

"You said so when you visited the village years ago," Kaze replied, inhaling her food. "Your father didn't like you talking to us 'cause we were 'monsters' or something. Seriously, your entire clan gets wiped out and suddenly the only survivors are monsters, right Kia?" Kiara grinned in response, getting used to the bloodthirsty presence of Gaara.

Gaara stayed silent throughout the rest of lunch, watching the other shinobi interact and even force Temari and Kankuro into conversation. When everyone had finished eating, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino all left so Shino could train, and Kankuro followed secretly to watch, since he and Shino faced off with their partners during the last exam. Temari left, saying she didn't want her brain to become rotted by the two girls' remarks and pulled Gaara with her.

"Why did you force Gaara-san to join us?" Kiara asked as she and Kaze went to find Sasuke at the hospital.

"You two need to get to know each other so that you can work together during the last part of the exam," Kaze explained, shrugging.

The girls came upon the hospital to find it in a panic. "Excuse me," Kiara asked one of the passing nurses. "What happened?"

"Uchiha Sasuke has run away!" The nurse replied quickly before running off. Kiara looked warily over at Kaze, who closed her eyes in annoyance.

"Of course he did," Kaze sighed, stomping out of the hospital.

"I bet you could ask Hinata-chan to help you train," Kiara suggested, following Kaze.

"I'll have to," Kaze replied, still fuming

The next couple of weeks flew by in a frenzy of training. Between training, Kaze insisted Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro join she, Kiara, and whoever else they happened to be eating with. Naruto always refused, saying he had to go train with 'the pervy sage.' When the day of the tournament arrived, Kiara and Kaze trudged to the arena, Kaze fuming again.

"He's sure to show up," Kiara said.

"He hasn't yet," Kaze growled in reply.

"But he won't miss the fight," Kiara insisted.

"If he's late, we have to forfeit," Kaze said, trying not to rip a tree out of the ground.

"He won't be late," Kiara said.

"If Sasuke is even one minute late, I'll rip his head off, so you and Gaara-kun won't have to worry about beating him," Kaze promised, clenching her hands into fists.

The two girls made it to the arena, joining the other shinobi up in the waiting area. "I don't see him yet," Kaze said, looking around. Gaara was watching her, so she waved at him, causing him to start in surprise and look away.

"I think you're scaring him," Kiara whispered.

"I'm not that scary," Kaze insisted, still looking around for Sasuke. "Why did Kakashi have to take Sasuke away for some super-secret training anyway?" She fumed, just resisting stomping her foot in annoyance, which most likely would have caused the entire place to come crashing down.

"Because he has no faith in you?" Kiara suggested sarcastically, earning yet another glare from Kaze. "Sorry, I don't know! I just didn't like not having an answer every time you've asked me that."

"Sorry, I just don't want to forfeit!" Kaze said, looking around again. "Hey, that Sound ninja isn't here anymore," she said in confusion.

"I think he was found dead on a roof the day after that second exam," Kiara informed her.

"And Shino's partner, Kara or whatever?" Kaze asked, noticing that the girl was gone also.

"Forfeit, something about not caring enough this time around," Kiara replied, picking at one of her nails.

"So Shino and Kankuro-san are going to do… what?" Kaze asked, annoyed that Kiara wouldn't answer the question she'd known Kaze was going to ask to begin with.

"They'll be fighting solo," Kiara replied, yawning. "No partners, just themselves."

"Hmm… Sasuke still isn't here and our match starts in thirty seconds," Kaze reported, fuming once more.

"I'm pretty sure the only reason there are so many people here is because of the fight between Sasuke-kun and Gaara-san," Kiara stated. "So if nothing else, to appease these people the proctor will most likely postpone our fight."

"The proctor is different also," Kaze noted.

"Yep, that's Genma, the other one was found dead on a roof sometime during our two-week break," Kiara informed her.

"How, exactly, do you know all this?" Kaze finally asked, raising an eyebrow at Kiara.

"If you spent your bored moments testing your concealment abilities in the Hokage's office, you'd know this stuff too," Kiara replied, smiling sweetly.

"You really have spent too much time with me, haven't you?" Kaze asked in amazement. "I wouldn't have even tested the Hokage's office. I've been wasting my time at the Anbu captain's office! Sheesh." Kiara laughed watching Genma announce that their fight was postponed temporarily.

"Told you," Kiara said smugly, smoothly ducking under the punch Kaze aimed at her.

Genma called Shino and Kankuro down to the arena, but Kankuro looked wary for a moment before calling out that he forfeit. "That's unfair," Shino muttered, hiding once more behind his glasses and high collared jacket. "He's ruining not only his chances, but mine too. Now I only have one battle to prove I'm good enough to become Chuunin."

"Well, whoever you're against, I'm sure you'll beat them down," Kaze said, patting Shino's back gently.

"What if it's you?" Shino asked.

"Good luck," Kiara said seriously. "Kaze won't hold back unless you're about to die; believe it."

"Urk, you sound too much like Naruto," Kaze complained, grimacing. "Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!" Kaze said, mocking Naruto momentarily. "Please, don't ever say those two words side by side ever again in your life," Kaze begged.

Kiara laughed shaking her head in amazement as Naruto pushed Shikamaru down to the floor before jumping down himself. Temari and Neji both walked down the stairs sighing at Naruto's excitement.

Surprisingly, Neji and Shikamaru worked well together. "Who knew the two geniuses would be such a great team?" Kaze whispered, watching Neji and Shikamaru closely.

"They're both crazy smart, maybe they just bonded over that fact?" Kiara suggested, shrugging. Kaze nodded in agreement.

To Kaze's disappointment, Naruto managed to beat Neji, and Shikamaru gave up moments before his chakra dropped to none. "Wow, that was amazing though," Kaze whistled. "I wouldn't be surprised if they both pass, even if they lost."

"Yea, Shikamaru was so focused, and he used his surroundings to enhance his abilities," Kiara said. "And Neji is so much higher in skill than anyone thought he was. Even the head Hyuga looked impressed out in the audience."

"What are you, a narrator?" Kaze asked, laughing.

"No, I just felt like explaining it!" Kiara replied defensively.

"Yea, uh huh," Kaze replied, snickering. "But! Guess who still hasn't shown up!"

Kiara sighed as Kaze went back to being angry. "Maybe he really isn't showing up," Kiara said, looking around.

"For his sake, he'd better not," Kaze growled, nearly breaking the bar in front of her in her anger.

Kiara pulled Kaze's hands away from the bar in a preventative measure as a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the field. "Oh, look who's here!" Kiara said, pointing at Sasuke and Kakashi as they appeared out of the smoke. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he talked to Genma and Sasuke looked bored as he looked around.

Kaze jumped over the bar and landed lightly in the arena, using enough chakra to cushion her fall and hide the fact that she was wearing weights. "Well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Kaze said, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at Sasuke. "Took your sweet time, didn't you, princess?"

"What'd you call me?" Sasuke demanded, glaring back at Kaze.

"You heard me, princess," Kaze reiterated, smirking at her partner. Kiara and Gaara walked down to the arena, Gaara ignoring Kiara and Kaze and focusing solely on Sasuke.

"Gaara-san said that you were to be my opponent," Kiara whispered. "And if I tried to interfere with his fight with Gaara he would crush me with his sand to make sure you won."

"Oh, good," Kaze replied. "Make sure you don't interfere 'cause I'd rather not live in that huge house alone." Kiara nodded in agreement as Genma called the start of the fight.

"Keep out of my way, Kaze-chan," Sasuke said, frowning at Gaara. "Red haired freak is mine."

Kaze punched him in the stomach and he fell to the ground in pain. "He isn't a freak," Kaze said, facing Kiara. "And don't worry, I'll have my hands full with Kia over here." Sasuke gasped in pain before forcing himself into a standing position. "Sorry, partner," Kaze laughed.

"Will you four just start fighting?" Genma sighed, shaking his head. Sasuke launched himself at Gaara as Kiara and Kaze both froze, watching each other carefully.

Kaze took a few steps sideways and Kiara copied her warily. "What are they doing?" Naruto asked from the waiting section.

"If they move, this match will be over," Shino explained, watching the two girls carefully. Just then, Kiara channeled all her chakra to her feet and ran at Kaze.

Moments later, Kaze's jacket and other weights were hidden at one side of the arena and Kiara was trapped in a head lock. Kiara struggled, channeling chakra to her arms before breaking free and throwing Kaze over her head and into a wall. The wall crumbled around Kaze and she pulled herself back through the hole and into the arena.

"Sheesh, Kia, did you have to break the wall?" Kaze laughed, dusting her tank top and pants. She flipped her hair around to get the dust out of it.

"Sorry, Kaze-sama," Kiara laughed in response, helping Kaze dust off her clothes. A moment later they heard a chirping sound a looked up to see Sasuke running down the wall of the arena towards a huge ball of sand. "What is he doing?" Kiara asked, looking around. "And where's Gaara-san?"

"I think Gaara-kun is inside that ball of sand," Kaze whispered as she and Kiara sat inside the hole to watch Sasuke dig his glowing, chirping fist into the side of the ball of sand. "Ooh, I hope Gaara-kun could get out of that one okay."


	13. Found!

**Shorter than they have been lately. I skipped over Naruto's big thing, but it did all happen. Just not where Kiara and Kaze were. Enjoy, and please review!**

**Disclaimer: Do not own, 'cept Kaze.**

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Sasuke pulled his arm out of the sand with some difficulty and everyone heard Gaara scream from inside. "What happened?" Kiara yelled as everyone in the audience fell asleep. Four people appeared and the Hokage was pulled away and into a battle with a guy that looked a lot like a snake. Temari and Kankuro picked up Gaara, who was bleeding from his shoulder, and took him away, and Sasuke immediately followed. Not long after, Kiara and Kaze saw Shikamaru, Sakura, and Naruto following one of Kakashi's ninja dogs and they all chased after Sasuke. They Shino followed, much to Kaze's surprise.

"I didn't think Shino cared that much about his fight," Kaze muttered. Kiara shrugged in response as Gai and Kakashi jumped down from the audience in front of them.

"Hey, would you two mind terribly helping us?" Kakashi asked, smiling at them through his mask. Kiara and Kaze smiled happily, grabbing two of their teachers' pursuers and flipping them over their heads, successfully burying them in the ground.

"Who's next?" Kaze asked, cracking her knuckles. The other enemy ninja hesitated, watching the two twelve-year-old girls warily.

"We're going to see if we can help the Hokage," Kakashi stated, patting Kiara on the shoulder and Kaze on the head. "Don't hurt them too badly, we'll still need confessions."

"Please, Ibiki could get confessions out of wood," Kaze snorted. "He won't have any problem with the dead." Kakashi laughed, following Gai to a huge force field where the Hokage was trapped. Kaze and Kiara helped Genma take down the rest of the enemy ninja.

Before they knew it, the fight inside the force field was finished and all the enemy ninja were captured. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Shino, and Shikamaru all came back, Shino's dad and Shikamaru's dad helping Naruto carry the others.

"Naru-san, what happened?" Kaze asked, running up to her friend. "Is everyone okay? Where's Gaara-kun?"

"Gaara left with that Temari girl and that puppet guy," Naruto informed her. "And I'm not sure how everyone's doing, they all seem hurt."

Kiara looked at Kaze warily, biting her lip. Kaze returned the gaze and the two decided instantly to help in any way they could. They wrapped their hands in healing chakra as Shikamaru's dad and Shino's dad laid the young ninja on the ground. The two girls ran their hands over their friends, healing each one until they could move properly.

"Where did you learn that?" Shino asked, sitting up as soon as Kaze finished healing him.

"Our teacher is really good at medical ninjutsu," Kiara explained, laughing lightly.

"Then maybe you two can help," Kakashi said from behind them. "The Hokage's in trouble." Kaze sighed, but she and Kiara followed Kakashi up to where the Hokage was laying on a roof, bleeding excessively. The two girls ran their healing chakra over the old man, but they each realized that they couldn't do anything to help him and shook their heads in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Kashi-sensei," Kaze sighed, folding her hands. "We can't bring the dead back to life, no matter how hard we try." Kakashi nodded his head in understanding.

The next day was a funeral for the Hokage and all the ninja who died during the attack. Kiara and Kaze stayed at the funeral for only a few minutes before running off to find Kakashi to tell him they were leaving.

"Why?" Kakashi asked, the rain hiding any tears he may have been shedding. Kaze had gone without an umbrella, but Kiara held a black one with red petals on it over her head, trying to convince Kaze to get under it also.

"Nade-sama needs us back for more training, she said," Kaze explained, folding her fingers together. "We don't want to be helpless, like we were yesterday. There are still some things we can't do, and Nade-sama can teach us properly."

"We may have someone coming after her," Kakashi warned.

"We heard," Kiara sighed. "We spent the night practicing our concealing techniques in the room the elders meet in, so we heard that she's the best choice for Hokage now that the old man's gone. We'll make sure not to tell her, since she'll most likely figure it out when we report what had happened here."

"I can't believe it was all a trap for the Kazekage to attack us," Kaze sighed, frustrated. "And what did you say he was? Arachnid or something?"

"Wrong creepy thing," Kiara said. "He's a snake, Orochimaru, remember? The elders spent hours talking about him and how surprised they were that he had taken over as the Kazekage, and how they couldn't allow Sasuke to follow in his footsteps."

"Right, I remember," Kaze replied, frowning at the ground.

Kakashi sighed and walked closer to the two of them. Before they could blink, he'd pulled his mask down and kissed them both on their foreheads. "Be safe, you two," he ordered, pulling his mask back up and attempting a smile. "If Orochimaru finds out you two are with Tsunade, he'll hunt you."

"Oh, but what about the Chuunin exam, Kakashi-sensei?" Kiara asked, still blushing slightly from his sudden display of affection.

"Right, before you leave, run to the Hokage tower," Kakashi told them, turning back to the memorial stone. "The elders have decided that there were only three who were good enough to be Chuunin, you two and Shikamaru, so you have to go there to get registered before leaving the town. Make sure not to tell them who you're going to see, and make no promises of bringing her back, I don't want you dragged into the middle of all this." Kiara and Kaze nodded, waiting another moment with Kakashi at the stone before heading to the tower to get registered as Chuunin.

The two girls left the village with a change of clothes, apparently clothes that were specific to their new rank, and orders to tell Tsunade to come back to the village to become Hokage. The two girls said they'd tell her, but didn't promise that she'd listen.

Two days later, after the rain had finally cleared up, the girls found Tsunade and Shizune in a bar. "Hey, Nade-sama, we have a message for you," Kaze said, waving her hand in front of the obviously drunk Tsunade.

"What's it?" Tsunade slurred, waving her drink around.

"The village wants you back to become Hokage," Kiara said, sighing. Tsunade passed out at that moment and Kaze once more carried her back to a hotel room for the night.

Months later, the group ran into some trouble. Tsunade had been playing at a gambling machine when the machine's lights went off and whistles began to blow. "Did she just win?" Kaze asked in surprise.

"This isn't good, does that mean someone's coming after her already?" Kiara muttered, following Tsunade and Shizune out of the establishment and to another bar.

"I'm not sure, but we may need to keep an eye on-" Kaze began as they sat down.

"Kiara-chan! Kaze-chan!" An annoying voice called out, interrupting Kaze. Kiara and Kaze groaned in unison as Naruto plodded over to them with an old sage-looking man. "What are you two doing in this town?"

Kaze bit her lip. "We're here with our teacher," she said, tilting her head to the side as Tsunade burped.

"With this old lady?" Naruto asked, peering at Tsunade.

"She isn't that old!" Kiara shouted, exasperated. She and Kaze had been forcefully rolled out of bed at three that morning to escape the town they'd been in because Tsunade had a panic about being in one place too long. Then, before noon, Tsunade had already gotten drunk and passed out, so Kaze tried to carry her back to an inn, but before they'd reached it Tsunade woke up and forced them to allow her to go gambling, which she was horrible at. Kiara had had enough.

Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, we saw Sasuke-teme's older brother, dude's a freak! He attacked Sasuke-teme and Kakashi-sensei, took them both out in no time flat!" Naruto whispered.

"Itachi-sama was seen near the village?" Kiara asked in surprise.

"Near? No, he was in the freaking village!" Naruto said in excitement. "Sasuke got all worked up and ran to the next village over to find me and the pervy sage, but Itachi came after him and pervy sage tried to beat him, but was too late to help Sasuke-teme who got really hurt and is unconscious in the hospital-"

"Wait, you said he attacked Kashi-sensei," Kaze said, frowning at Naruto's rambling.

"He did, before finding Sasuke-teme," Naruto explained. "Kakashi-sensei's also in a hospital bed. Hasn't woken up since his run in with Itachi."

"Where's Tachi-san now?" Kaze asked, shooting Kiara a worried glance.

"Dunno, he disappeared with his shark friend," Naruto shrugged.

"Shark? You never said there was a shark!" Kiara said, tapping an agitated finger on the table in front of her.

"Yea, there was. Itachi's in the Akatsuki," Naruto said.

"Itachi-sama wouldn't do that!" Kiara yelled. Kaze pulled her back down into her seat, trying to calm her down.

Naruto shrunk away as his companion, who looked about as old as Tsunade really was, sat down at the table. "Hello, Jaraiya," Tsunade said, setting her drink down. Kaze and Kiara gaped at her in surprise.

"How do you know this old man, Tsunade-sama?" Kiara asked, frowning

"Old?" Jaraiya asked.

"He was one of my teammates a long time ago," Tsunade replied.

"And when she says long, she means _long_," Naruto whispered, earning a punch from Jaraiya.

"What did I say about being rude?" He shouted as Naruto held the back of his head in pain. "Anyway, Tsunade, we need you back at the village to become Hokage."

"I have no intention of becoming Hokage," Tsunade replied simply.

"There are also ninja who need your help," Jaraiya continued.

"Have the other medical ninja take care of it," Tsunade ordered, sniffing.

"It's something only you can do!" Jaraiya insisted, pounding his fist on the table. "We need you back at the village to become Hokage and help the people!"

"Wait, you want this old lady to become Hokage?" Naruto asked frantically.

"Oh, right, Naru-san wants to become Hokage," Kaze mused, tapping her lip in thought. Naruto got up on the table and looked Tsunade in the eye, to which Kiara and Kaze sighed and closed their eyes. They were certain Tsunade wouldn't take his disrespect sitting down. Sure enough, a moment later Tsunade challenged Naruto to a match and the two of them walked outside followed by a confused Jaraiya and a sighing Shizune, Kiara, and Kaze.

Outside, Tsunade said that she would only use one finger against him, and Naruto immediately ran at Tsunade. Kaze crossed her arms, watching the battle. Once Naruto was within range, Tsunade flicked his headband off his head, then flicked him in the forehead, sending him flying backwards with the power of her first finger.

"Ow!" Naruto groaned, holding his forehead.

"That's Nade-sama's specialty," Kaze informed him as he stood up. "She's got crazy strength. Good teacher for Kia and me."

Naruto began to form something in his hand, which he held as he ran at Tsunade. She panicked for a moment and dug her finger in the ground, splitting it open under Naruto's feet and he lost his hold on his chakra, which immediately spun out and made a spiral shape in the ground next to him.

"What was that?" Kiara asked, her eyes widening.

"I didn't think you would teach the Rasengan to a kid, Jaraiya," Tsunade said, frowning at her old teammate.

"He wanted to learn it, and I figured it was his birthright," Jaraiya replied shrugging. Kiara and Kaze shared confused looks before shaking their heads, deciding they didn't care enough to figure out what they were talking about.

"Hey, kids, I want you two to go to the village in my stead," Tsunade whispered to the girls standing next to them. "I won't go, but they may need help from two of the greatest medical shinobi I've ever bothered to train."

Kiara beamed and Kaze was secretly pleased at the compliment, so they bowed respectfully and ran back to the inn to get their belongings before beginning their journey back to Konoha.


	14. Follow That Sasuke!

**Last chapter. Iruka finally shows back up here. I don't own, characters may be out-of-caracter, it happens, some things happen that Kaze and Kiara didn't see, so while they still happened, I will not explain them. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Even after all this time, I still don't own them, except Kaze.**

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Back in their home village, Kiara and Kaze were attacked by one specific teacher who was, at that moment, freaking out. "WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?" Iruka bellowed as they walked through the gates. Kiara and Kaze flinched and tried to hide behind a building, but Iruka found them and pulled them out into the open by their collars.

"I'm sorry, Ruka-sensei!" Kaze cried, her head bowed. "Our teacher wanted us back so she could train us, then Naru-san found us-"

"And he said that Itachi-sama was here in the village and that he hurt Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei-" Kiara continued when Kaze stopped.

"So we ran back here as fast as we could to try to help!" Kaze finished.

"Honest!" They both said at the same time, their collars still in the grasp of their former teacher.

"Am I really that scary?" Iruka asked, laughing as he let the two girls go. "I was kidding, girls, really!" He wrapped the two girls up in a hug until they relaxed enough to laugh with him.

"Sorry, Ruka-sensei," Kaze said, smiling at him.

"But you can get frightening when you yell," Kiara said, sighing. "We've seen it enough times with Naruto that we never wanted to be on the receiving end of it."

Iruka laughed again, patting the two girls on the head. "Well, you'd better go see them. I'm not sure what the status is," Iruka said, waving the two girls off. They waved back as they ran to the hospital.

"Where's Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei?" Kiara asked the lady at the front.

"They can't have visitors," the obviously new lady said, waving them off like a couple of little kids. "Now get going, those two are in critical condition and we don't want you under foot."

Kaze put her fist in the lady's counter, leaning close to her. "Room numbers," Kaze ordered, pulling her fist out of the counter and leaving a hole in the middle of it.

"Th-three-oh-six," she stuttered. "They were put together because they had similar afflictions."

"Thank you!" The girls said, smiling sweetly at the lady before running down the hall.

"Oh, hey, those two have special permission to be here at any time, no matter the condition of the patient," a passing nurse said, writing something on her clipboard.

"Thanks for letting me know," the lady said sarcastically, eyeing the hole in her counter.

Kaze burst through the door of the room the lady had said, accidentally leaving it in pieces on the floor in her haste. "There's a doorknob, you know," Kiara stated, holding said doorknob up before dropping it to the floor with the rest of the door.

"Ah, you're here!" One of the doctors said, allowing the two girls to stand next to Sasuke's bed. "We don't know what to do, and we're afraid they'll die if we keep them like this. Is there any way you can wake them up?"

Kiara waved her hands, wrapped in healing chakra, over Sasuke while Kaze did the same to Kakashi. "I don't think so," Kiara sighed. "This is the one Tsunade-sama was teaching us, but because we didn't have any subjects we couldn't learn how to heal them of it."

"We can, however, keep them stable until she gets here," Kaze said, frowning at Kiara's negativity. "It's rare for you to be so negative, Kia."

"I'm tired, Kaze-sama," Kiara sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't think I've gotten a proper night's sleep for quite some time. Not since before we became official ninja."

Kaze nodded her head in understanding as she and Kiara got to work stabilizing their friend and former teacher.

About a week later, Tsunade burst through the newly fixed door, breaking it to pieces just as Kaze had all over the floor. "There's a doorknob, you know," Shizune stated, holding said doorknob up before dropping it to the floor with the rest of the door.

"That sounds familiar," Kaze said, snickering.

"How are they?" Tsunade asked, peering at Sasuke and Kakashi.

"These two have done nothing to help him!" Sakura claimed, standing up indignantly. "They just sit there and do nothing all day while Sasuke-kun lays there dying! They're useless!"

"Shut up, or I'll break all your bones in one moment," Tsunade threatened, shooting Sakura a glare that instantly quieted her. "My students have done all they could, and now that I have a reason to show them this, they'll know how to heal anyone cursed with this affliction."

Tsunade sat down where Kiara just stood from and waved her hands over Sasuke, instructing Kaze and Kiara as she did so. Kiara and Kaze nodded in understanding before moving to Kakashi's side and helping him. Moments later, Sasuke woke up and Sakura latched on to him as Naruto laughed nervously before leaving. Kakashi also woke up, looking as if he had the worst hangover in his life.

"That was very good, girls," Tsunade said, grinning at her students. They smiled back at her until she left to room, following Gai, to go check on Lee.

Once she was gone, the two girls let out huge yawns and rubbed their eyes. "Have you two gotten any sleep since you came back?" Kakashi asked, dragging himself off the hospital bed.

"In the past week?" Kaze asked. Kakashi nodded. "I think we slept about a total of twenty minutes, right Kia?"

"Collectively, I'm sure it was about twenty minutes," Kiara agreed, rubbing her temples.

"Well, we need to get you two off to bed!" Kakashi stated, grabbing their hands and pulling them with him out of the hospital. "Never liked hospitals, by the way. Can't stand them!" Kaze laughed half-heartedly and Kiara stayed silent, focusing on staying awake until Kakashi stopped pulling her arm off.

Kakashi lead them to his house, opening the door and taking them to his room, where they flopped onto the bed. "I'll have dinner made when you two wake up, okay?" Kakashi said, laughing at his former students.

"Nade-sama said you need to rest," Kaze said, rolling her one open eye to peer at him.

"All I've been doing is resting," Kakashi retorted, hiding a yawn.

"I saw that," Kaze said.

"I heard that," Kiara's muffled voice stated from the pillow. "Bed, now, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi laughed, but crawled in next to Kaze and wrapped his arms around the two girls.

"Make sure you actually sleep, Kashi-sensei," Kaze ordered, burying her face in his chest and grabbing on to his shirt with one hand. "And just to make sure you won't leave, I have an iron grip on your shirt."

"I've got his hand," Kiara said tiredly, holding tightly onto Kakashi's hand. The two girls fell asleep quickly, and Kakashi tried to escape but found he really was trapped.

"One of these days those two will be the death of you," Iruka laughed from the window.

"One of these days I'm going to be the death of you if you don't keep coming up to my window," Kakashi threatened half-heartedly. "I guess I need to rest, so go do some teacher things, Iruka-sensei." Iruka let out an irritated sound before leaving, allowing Kakashi to drift off to sleep.

Hours later, Kakashi finally woke up and disentangled himself from the two girls, who awoke with a start. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Kakashi said.

"No, it's that sudden chakra burst…" Kaze said, looking around the room, disoriented.

"I think it came from the hospital," Kiara said stumbling out of the bed and out into the hall. "Let's go, Kiara-sama."

"I think I'm Kaze," Kaze said, following her friend.

"Whatever you are, we have to stop whatever this is," Kiara said, frustrated. "Why can't I find this doorknob?" She shrieked, running her hands over the wall in front of her.

"Over here, Kiara," Kakashi said, amused by their tired antics.

"Thank you," Kiara said tartly, finally awake enough to realize what she was doing.

Kaze yawned hugely, following her friend to the hospital in the twilight to find Sasuke and Naruto aiming at each other, Sasuke with his Chidori, and Naruto with his Rasengan. Kakashi jumped in the middle just as Sakura had run out between her two teammates and threw the boys to different ends of the roof. Each landed in a water tank and Sasuke pulled his arms out to release a huge flow of water, but Kaze and Kiara saw Naruto's Rasengan fly out the other end of the water tank and spill all the water out of it in a moment.

"Whoa, when'd he get so strong?" Kaze asked, raising an eyebrow at Kiara. Kiara shrugged in response, watching Sasuke punch the wall below Naruto's water tank and storm away.

"Either way, Sasuke-kun's not happy about it," she stated. "Should we go talk to him?"

"Don't bother, he wouldn't listen to a couple of girls younger than him," Kaze said, shrugging. "Besides, Kashi-sensei's going after him. I'm going to Shino's, I need more sleep." She waved to Kiara, making her way to Shino's house.

The next morning, Kaze was woken up, at Hinata's house (Shino was on a mission with his father) by a yell of surprise. "Sasuke's gone?" Neji shouted. "Are you sure, Lee?"

"Yes, Shikamaru-san is taking some ninja with him, and I figured you'd be the best choice since I myself cannot go," Lee's voice said from the doorway. Hinata followed Kaze out into the front of the house to see what was going on. Neji ran past them on his way to his room to pack and Lee waved at Kaze. "Hello, Kaze-san, I am sorry to have woken you."

"No problem, Lee-kun," Kaze said, waving off his apology. "But tell me, what did Neji mean when he said 'Sasuke's gone'?"

"Sasuke left last night, according to Sakura-san," Lee reported as Neji ran past him, dressed and packed, but his hair flew around his face freely.

"Neji-sama, wait!" Kaze called, waving him back inside the gate. He looked agitated when she told him to spin around, but calmed down as she pulled his hair back away from his face in a loose ponytail. "Running around with long, loose hair is a hazard, you know," she said, smiling up at Neji. He smiled back gratefully, waved at Hinata, and ran off again. "Wait…" Kaze muttered, finally processing what Lee had said. "SASUKE'S GONE?" She screeched, grabbing her weights and bag and running after Neji.

She caught up with him at the gate to the outside of the village where he was meeting up with Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Naruto. "I'm coming!" Kaze demanded, glowering at the group.

"That sounds great, Kaze-chan!" Naruto said, grinning at her.

"Nope, we can't do that," Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head. "The fifth said to not allow you to come with. Neither you nor Kiara-san, sorry."

"What?" Kaze yelled, indignant. "Why can't we come?"

"Go ask her, I was too busy thinking of who to bring to listen very closely," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. Kaze fumed for another moment before spinning on her heel and running towards the Hokage tower.

"I'm going!" Kaze said, bursting into Tsunade's office. She saw that Kiara was already there, pleading with Tsunade to let them go.

"You are not!" Tsunade ordered, scattering her paperwork.

"Why not?" Kaze asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You two are too close to Sasuke," Tsunade sighed. "It's the same reason I won't let Sakura go."

"Besides the fact that I don't want to be placed in the same category as that pink-haired, clingy, useless, girly-girl, Kiara and I are the best choice for this!" Kaze declared. "Besides, Naruto's going!"

"True, but Naruto's always thought of Sasuke as a rival, so he won't decide to join him," Tsunade explained. "And that was Shikamaru's decision, not mine."

"Then let us be backup!" Kiara said. "They'll need medical ninja if Sasuke has company! Please, Tsunade-sama, they'll need our help!"

"No, and that's final!" Tsunade said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something I need to do for Lee. Relax, Shikamaru will make sure they're all alright."

Kiara followed Kaze as she stormed to their house. "Kaze-sama, what are we going to do? We need to help them!" Kiara asked as Kaze ran up to her room.

"Oh, we're going," Kaze said, pulling a phone out of her drawer.

"But Tsunade said-"

"I heard what Tsunade said," Kaze cut Kiara off. "But we need to help them. And we'll need backup of our own."

"Who are you calling?" Kiara asked, frowning at Kaze.

"Hey, Gaara-kun!" Kaze said brightly into the phone. "Listen, I need a favor…"

Half an hour later, after Kaze had explained their situation to Gaara and he promised to meet them with Temari and Kankuro, Kaze and Kiara were racing through the trees, following Shikamaru's team.

"I can't believe we're ignoring direct orders," Kiara moaned. "She'll have our heads, I'm sure of it!"

"No time to worry about that, Kia," Kaze ordered. "We need to hurry, they already have half an hour ahead of us!"

Kiara sighed, then froze when she heard someone groaning on the forest floor. "Kaze-sama, hold on!" Kiara called, dropping down from the branch in front of the figure.

"It's Cho-kun!" Kaze said, surprised. "Hey, Cho-kun, you okay?"

Choji groaned again, holding his stomach. "Uh oh," Kiara breathed, channeling her healing chakra into their friend. "Help, Kaze-sama, he's really hurt!"

Kaze helped the best she could, but Choji couldn't be healed with what skills they had, so they did their best to stabilize their friend's condition before shooting a flare into the sky to signify his location. Kiara sighed, leading the way until Kaze stopped, noticing a figure once more on the forest's floor.

"Oh, no, Neji-sama!" Kaze yelled, causing Kiara to pause. "I need to try to help him, Kia!" Kaze said, jumping to the floor.

Kiara followed, helping Kaze stop the blood flowing out of a hole in Neji's chest. They couldn't do much else, since neither girl could regenerate his missing tissue properly without causing him to lose some mobility. Kaze gave up, with some difficulty and allowed Kiara to pull her away.

The two girls kept running forward after letting off a flare, both girls using their noses in much the same way that Kiba and Akamaru normally do until they both stopped suddenly, completely in tune with the other's natural reactions. "Kaze-sama, they split up," Kiara reported, looking around. There was a huge chasm in front of them.

"Or were separated," Kaze said, sighing.

"I'll go find Kiba," Kiara suggested. Kaze agreed, running after Shikamaru's scent.

Kiba gasped for air, trying to use his nose to find the Sound ninja who was coming after him. "Seems like he's gone," Kiba sighed in relief, patting the unconscious Akamaru.

"You think so?" The Sound ninja asked, wearing Kiba's jacket.

"My jacket, you used it to disguise your scent," Kiba said, staring wide-eyed at the ninja.

"I figured you wouldn't notice a scent you've been smelling all your life," the ninja said, stabbing at Kiba. He was stopped by a figure in a cloak standing in front of him.

"Don't worry, Kiba," Kankuro laughed from the other side of the boy. "The Sand ninja are here to help!"

"Hey, I was here first," Kiara said from behind the Sound ninja. "No fair." She picked the guy up and flipped him over her head, pulling Kiba's jacket off him the same time she threw him into the river. "Hi, Inuzuka-san!" Kiara said brightly, handing Kiba his jacket. She kneeled down to heal Akamaru before taking care of Kiba. "Quite a mess, huh?" She asked, ignoring Kankuro engaging the Sound ninja in battle.

"Ah, Kawa-san!" Kiba sighed in relief. "Where's Kami-san? You two are never separated."

"She went after Shikamaru-san," Kiara replied just as Kankuro slid next to her.

"Wait, Kaze-san went to help Shikamaru?" He asked. Kiara nodded. "Temari went to help Shikamaru."

The two looked at each other for a moment before muttering, "Uh oh."

Shikamaru struggled in his battle with the girl with a foul mouth. She had gray skin with horns on her head and long hair, she was laughing and cussing at Shikamaru as he struggled to hold her in his Shadow Strangle Jutsu. "You aren't bad for a dickhead," the girl said, snickering as she tried again to hit him with a dagger she'd stolen from him. Shikamaru's jutsu broke, the girl aimed, and a moment later Kaze was standing between them, holding the dagger still.

"You may have gotten through Shikamaru's jutsu," Kaze chuckled. "But you want to know my favorite move?"

"What is it, hoe-bag?" The girl asked, trying to pull the dagger out of Kaze's hand and failing miserably.

"ROUNDHOUSE KICK, BITCH!" Kaze shouted, spinning around and kicking the girl in the head, successfully knocking her off the tree and onto the ground below.

"Language, Kaze-chan!" Temari said, trying to keep her anger to a simmer. "Besides, I was supposed to help Shikamaru-san!"

"You snooze you lose!" Kaze laughed, helping Shikamaru stand. "Are you okay, Shika-san?" She asked, running her hands over Shikamaru's chest and down his arms.

"What are you two doing here?" Shikamaru asked, flinching as she reached his broken finger.

"Aw, Shika-san, you're finger," Kaze muttered, straightening it out while healing it. "That better?" She asked, sneakily holding his hand for longer than she needed to.

"He's fine!" Temari snapped at Kaze, pulling her away from Shikamaru. "We have to beat this girl so quit touching Shikamaru-san!"

"But-" Shikamaru began, blushing slightly. Kaze and Temari launched themselves off the branch and at the girl below. "I kinda wanted to hold her hand," Shikamaru finished to himself, frowning after the two girls.

Moments later, the girl was unconscious on the forest floor and Kiara and Kankuro ran up. "Hey, Kia!" Kaze called, waving.

"Are you guys okay?" Kiara asked, looking Shikamaru over.

"I'm fine, Kaze-san already looked me over," Shikamaru said, waving Kiara off and laughing. "Where's Choji and Neji?" Kiara shook her head, refusing to answer.

"I'm guessing Temari didn't much like that," Kankuro muttered.

"We have to go find Naruto!" Kiba said, still clutching the unconscious Akamaru and staggering on his pained legs. "C'mon, let's go!"

Kaze nodded and she led the way to a clearing where Gaara was standing over a weird looking guy that no one paid any attention to. "Hello, Kaze-san, Kiara-san," Lee said, waving to the two girls from next to Gaara.

"Hello, Lee-kun!" Kiara said. "Gaara-san, thank you so much for helping us!"

"I didn't do it for you," Gaara said, not looking at Kiara.

"I don't care, I still wanted to thank you," Kiara said tartly, glowering at Gaara.

Gaara shifted his eyes to her, startled at her sudden irritation. "Oh, well then, you're welcome?" Gaara said uncertainly, furrowing his eyebrows.

Kiara nodded, pleased with his acceptance and looked Lee over. "Lee, why do you smell like sake?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her nose to dispel the smell.

"I'm not sure," Lee said, shrugging. "I was taking my medicine before my fight with this guy," he waved at the guy on the ground, "and I can't quite remember what happened until Gaara-sama came." He then waved at Gaara, who was being looked over by Kaze.

"You don't need to check for wounds, Kaze-san," Gaara insisted, trying to pull his arm out of her grip and earning a death glare from her. "If you insist, I guess," Gaara sighed, giving up and allowing Kaze to run her hands over his arm.

"You never know, Gaara-kun," Kaze stated. "Your defense isn't perfect, if it was I wouldn't be allowed this close to you."

"I honestly think his sand likes you," Kankuro said, shaking his head.

"It's sand, it can't have feelings," Temari snorted, still unhappy with Kaze.

"It might," Gaara said as Shikamaru silently fumed. "She is the only person who could possibly take me out who is allowed this close. See?" He motioned to his sand, some of which was sliding out of his gourd and wrapping around Kaze's hair.

"Aw, kawaii!" Kiara squealed, grinning at Kaze.

"Oh, shut up!" Kaze snapped, the sand settling in her hair. Kaze blushed angrily, biting her lip. Shikamaru cleared his throat.

"Where is Naruto?" He asked, trying to pull the attention away from Kaze. "He'd gone ahead of us to find Sasuke."

"I saw him," Lee said. "He went off ahead to find Sasuke."

"Well, I trust Naruto to get back safely," Kaze stated, touching Gaara's hand before turning away. "Thank you very much, Gaara-kun, we'll be running back to the village." She smiled gratefully at Gaara before running away, followed by the other Konoha ninja. The Sand ninja looked at each other warily before following.

They made it back to the village, Kaze and Kiara sneaking in while Shikamaru ran to see the Hokage about the mission.

About an hour later, Kakashi showed up in the village with Naruto on his back. "Kashi-sensei, are you okay?" Kaze asked, she and Kiara rushing up to him and Naruto.

"Yep, and Naruto's fine too," Kakashi said, smiling at the two girls.

"And… Sasuke-kun?" Kiara asked warily, noticing that both Kakashi's and Naruto's eyes turned dark at the sound of his name.

"Well, whatever, we need to tell Tsunade-sama!" Kaze said, turning and running towards the hospital. Kiara faltered and instead helped Naruto to his house and to bed.

"Tsunade-sama!" Kaze yelled, interrupting Shizune's report. "Kashi-sensei and Naruto have returned!"

"Just the two of them, huh?" Tsunade said sadly. Temari ground her teeth in irritation when Kaze ran up.

"Well, you failed your mission. But at least everyone survived," Tsunade said, shrugging.

Kaze peered at Shikamaru, who was standing next to her, and saw with surprise that he was crying openly. "Next time, we will definitely complete our mission," he promised, trying to hide his tears. Kaze hesitated, but then wrapped her arms around Shikamaru. He gratefully accepted the hug, calming his tears gradually.

"Oh, and Kaze," Tsunade said, frowning at Kaze. "The next time you disobey a direct order from me it will result in severe consequences."

Kaze looked carefully at Tsunade before straightening up. "With all due respect, Tsunade-sama," Kaze began after clearing her throat. "The next time you give me an order that puts my friends in danger, it may result in your life."

Tsunade gaped at her as she pulled Shikamaru away. "C'mon, Shika-san, I'll treat you to dinner," Kaze said, smiling at Shikamaru, who stared at her in surprise, allowing himself to be pulled away.

Over the next seven years, Kiara and Kaze managed to become both Jounin and Anbu by the age of fourteen, while all the other Leaf ninja became either Chuunin or Jounin. Gaara had become the Kazekage in his father's stead and Temari and Kankuro stayed as his guards. Naruto went on many different missions to try to find Sasuke, with the help of Kiara and Kaze, who used their new Anbu rank to get Naruto more difficult missions. Naruto went on a two-and-a-half year training journey with Jaraiya while Kaze and Kiara tried to help Tsunade teach Sakura about medical ninjutsu without hurting Sakura in the process. Naruto, Kiara, and Kaze refused to give up on their missing-nin friend, and Tsunade frequently lost patience with them.


End file.
